On 16 July 2022, a group of around 20 gunmen armed with long-barreled weapons and blades entered the

Kampung A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used t ...

of Nonggolait (or Nogolait) in

Nduga Regency Nduga Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. Nduga Regency was separated from Jayawijaya Regency on 4 January 2008 in accordance with Law No. 6/2008. It covers an area of 12,941 km2, and had a ...

Highland Papua Highland Papua ( id, Papua Pegunungan) is a province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of Papuan customary region of Lano-Pago, shortened to La Pago. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,408,641 according to the official es ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The attackers opened fire on a

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...

, and then shot seven traders riding on a

freight truck Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon type ...

. Four bystanders were also shot. During the shooting, eleven people were killed and two were wounded. All of the victims were men, most of whom came from other

Indonesian islands * See also: Names of Indonesia , location = Southeast Asia and Oceania , waterbody = * Indian Ocean * Pacific Ocean , total_islands = ± 17,000–18,000 islands , major_islands = , area_km2 = 8,300,000 , area_footnotes = , rank = , length_ ...

. Victims of the attack were Daeng Maramhli (42) ''ustad'' (Muslim cleric) of Nonggolait, Rev. Eliaser Baye (54) indigenous

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of Nonggolait from Kenyam, Yulius Watu (23), Habertus Goti (23), Taufah Amir (42), Johan (26), Alex (45), Sirajudin (27), Yuda Gurusinga (42), dan Mahmud Ismaul (50), driver for the Regent of Nduga. Meanwhile survivors of the attack were Hasjon (41) severely harmed, and Sudarmintao hit by ricochet. Meanwhile the body of a construction worker Roy Manampiring (42) was found not far from the incident, according to local inhabitants travelling with him, the armed group block their route on their journey home to Nonggolait and killed Manampiring while the other fled to the jungle. Indonesian authorities suspected the Free Papua Movement's militant wing, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), of responsibility, specifically of Army Tabuni and

Egianus Kogoya The Nduga hostage crisis began on 7 February 2023 when Free Papua Movement ( id, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM) insurgents attacked a plane and took its pilot and all five passengers hostage. While the passengers were soon released, New Zealan ...

group. One of the perpetrators of the attack is Yotam Bugiangge, an

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its ...

(TNI-AD) deserter with the former rank of Private Second Class. The

Indonesian National Police '' , mottotranslated = (Serving the Nation) , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 440,000 (2020) , volunteers = , budget = , nongovernment ...

claimed that Bugiangge is one of the masterminds of the attack together with Kogoya. The TPNPB claimed responsibility for the attack which was carried out by Egianus Kogoya, commander of Regional War Command (Kodap) III Ndugama-Derakma of the TPNPB, and his armed group and threatened to shoot more civilians including teachers and nurses. On 29 May 2023, the Indonesian National Police arrested "AK", a wanted TPNPB member from Kogoya's group who was involved in the attack.

Responses

The Indonesian Presidential Staff Office condemned the attack and promised legal action towards the perpetrators. The

Communion of Churches in Indonesia The Communion of Churches in Indonesia ( id, Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia) is a national ecumenical body in Indonesia. It was founded in 1950. It is a member of the World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a w ...

(PGI) issued a five-point communique on 18 July, offering condolences on the death of Rev. Eliaser Baye. The communique also urged the Indonesian government to form an independent team to investigate the attack and the Indonesian security forces to utilize a "cultural approach" to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

urged the Indonesian government to "stop the cycle of violence" and evaluate its approach on handling the Papua issue.

References

2022 mass shootings in Asia 2022 murders in Indonesia 21st-century mass murder in Indonesia History of Highland Papua July 2022 crimes in Asia July 2022 events in Indonesia Mass murder in 2022 Mass shootings in Indonesia Papua conflict {{Indonesia-hist-stub