Hundreds leave Papua villages in separatist standoff
20/11/2017 19:09
Hundreds more people have left villages in Papua that were at the center of clashes with separatists, Indonesian police said Monday.
It was the second evacuation from the region near the U.S.-owned Grasberg gold and copper mine in a week.
Papua police chief Boy Rafli Amar said about 800 villagers were bused to the town of Timika and are being accommodated in a local hall.
"They finally asked to be evacuated or relocated because the conditions there were traumatizing," Amar said.
Security forces appeared to gain the upper hand in the standoff with separatists on Friday and evacuated more than 340 people who were migrants from other regions.
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