The West Papua National Liberation Army ( id, Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat; abbreviated TPNPB), commonly known in
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 ...
as Armed Criminal Group ( id, Kelompok Kriminal Bersenjata; abbreviated as KKB), is a
Western New Guinean insurgent group in Indonesia. It is the armed wing of the
Free Papua Organization
"Free Papua Movement" ( id, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM, tpi, Fri Wes Papua Grup) is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the West Papuan or West New Guinea territory which is currently being administrat ...
.
It has been
labelled as a terrorist organization by Indonesian
.
Military strategy
The TPNPB employs guerilla tactics to target and destroy industrial buildings as a rejection of Indonesian-led development. In said attacks, and other attacks, they use
machetes
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
,
bows and arrows
The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common t ...
,
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
s, and limited numbers of
revolvers
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
and
rifles
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...
.
OPM Conference
The Free Papua Organization held a conference in December 2012 and decided that
Goliath Tabuni was to be the head of the TPNPB, while
Gabriel Melkizedek Awom
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
was to be the Lt. Gen. and
Terianus Satto was set as the Chief of Staff.
Incidents
*
Nduga massacre
The Nduga massacre ( id, Pembantaian Nduga) was a shooting of construction workers that occurred on 1 December 2018, in Nduga Regency, Papua (now in Highland Papua), Indonesia. The shooting is considered to be part of the Papuan conflict. The W ...
*
Nogolait shooting
On 16 July 2022, a group of around 20 gunmen armed with long-barreled weapons and blades entered the Kampung of Nonggolait (or Nogolait) in Nduga Regency, Highland Papua, Indonesia. The attackers opened fire on a grocer, and then shot seven tra ...
References
Rebel groups in Indonesia
Papua conflict
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