JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept 23 (AP) — The Latest on violent protests in Indonesia’s Papua province (all times local):
8:30 p.m.
At least 20 people were killed Monday, including three shot by police, in violent protests by hundreds of people sparked by rumors that a teacher insulted an indigenous student in Indonesia’s restive Papua province, officials said.
An angry mob torched local government buildings, shops and homes and set fire to cars and motorbikes on several roads leading to the district chief’s office in Wamena city, said Papua police chief Rudolf Alberth Rodja.
Papua military spokesman Eko Daryanto said at least 16 civilians, including 13 from other Indonesian provinces, were killed in Wamena, mostly after being trapped in burning houses or shops.
He said at least one soldier and three civilians died in another protest in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province.
About 65 civilians were injured in Wamena and five police officers were critically injured in Jayapura, he said.
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6 p.m.
Hundreds of protesters in Indonesia’s restive Papua province set fire to homes and other buildings Monday in a protest sparked by rumors that a teacher had insulted students, and a soldier was killed in another protest in the region, police said.
An angry mob torched local government buildings, shops and homes and set fire to cars and motorbikes on several roads leading to the district chief’s office in Wamena city, said Papua police chief Rudolf Alberth Rodja.
Television footage showed orange flames and black smoke billowing from burning buildings.
Rodja said the protest was triggered by allegations that a high school teacher in Wamena who is not from Papua called an indigenous Papuan student “monkey” last week.
