Biak – Nine hundred inhabitants in the district of Kuyawage have fled their homes and sought sanctuary in Sinak district, Puncak Jaya, because Indonesian troops are conducting operations in their area.

The operations are being conducted in the army's campaign to find weapons that were seized from their base in Wamena on 4 April. An army officer told journalists that the condition of the inhabitants who had left their homes was not a matter for the army, which is only concerned with security. It was a matter for the local government.

He alleged that the inhabitants had been provoked by units of TPN/OPM to flee. They were using the local people to spread information hostile to the army. "I'm sure the people have fled only because they are afraid of the TPN/OPM although in reality they have confidence in the government because of all the development that has taken place," he said.