Two soldiers killed in attack in Indonesia

SANAA, Dec. 18 (YPA) – Two Indonesian soldiers were killed on Wednesday, by an armed attack in the Indonesian province of Papua.

According to “Reuters”, Mohamed Idi, an intelligence official in the Special Forces unit, said that two soldiers were shot dead in the easternmost province of Papua in an ambush by separatist rebels.

“The rebels launched the attack while soldiers and residents were transporting goods in preparation for the end-of-year celebrations from the helicopter base to the village of Colaba in the Entan Jaya district,” he added.

The Papua region has been plagued by conflict that has been led for decades by a separated and often underpowered separatist movement.

Papua, rich in natural resources, was a former Dutch colony and joined Indonesia after a referendum supported by the United Nations in 1969 and has since suffered from a limited separatist conflict.