Jakarta – Indonesia said on Wednesday it might ban foreign tourists from visiting restive Papua, where four people have been killed and dozens wounded in recent clashes over government plans to divide the province.

War-torn Aceh province, Indonesia's other separatist hot spot, was closed to tourists in June and restrictions placed on aid agencies and foreign media working there.

"Yes it is true," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa when asked about reports the government was considering closing Papua to foreign tourists. "Tourist visas for those entering Indonesia should specifically exempt areas of unrest. This means Aceh and Papua."

Separatist insurgencies have been simmering in the two provinces – Aceh in Indonesia's northwest and Papua in its far east – for decades. Government forces launched a major offensive against the Aceh rebels in May. Some foreigners had used tourist visas to travel to Papua while conducting activities seen by the government as inappropriate, the spokesman said. He did not elaborate.

Papua is a giant province on the western side of New Guinea island where some tribes only emerged from the Stone Age in recent decades. Foreign tourists have never visited Papua in large numbers, but its jungles, huge array of wildlife and fascinating cultures have plenty of appeal for those looking for adventure.

"At the minimum, there is the potential impact on their safety, like the case with Germany," Natalegawa said. The tourist ban in Aceh came after troops shot dead a German tourist who failed to identify himself to a night patrol.

The government put Aceh under martial law when it launched the fresh offensive against Free Aceh Movement rebels. More than 800 people have been killed. The military says most were rebels.

The unrest in Papua followed a government decision early this year to divide Indonesia's largest yet most under-populated province into three in a bid to accelerate development in the resource-rich region.

Many analysts see the move as an attempt to weaken the independence movement.

The government said after the clashes erupted last month it had shelved plans for one of the new provinces.

Largely Christian and animist Papua was incorporated into the world's most populous Muslim country in 1963. In 1969, a UN-run plebiscite held among local leaders resulted in a vote to join Indonesia. The vote has been widely criticised as unfair.