Jakarta – Police and soldiers opened fire on each other Tuesday in Indonesia's Papua province, leaving one officer dead, a police spokesman said.

The incident – the latest in series of clashes around the country between the two underpaid and poorly disciplined forces – took place in the highland town of Mulia, spokesman Kartono Wangsadisastra said.

Clashes elsewhere in Indonesia between the two forces have been typically triggered by turf wars, often over illegal rackets such as drugs, smuggling and prostitution.

Wangsadisastra said police and soldiers had returned to their barracks and the town was calm. He did not say what sparked the clash or how long it lasted.

Thousands of police and soldiers are stationed in Papua, some 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) east of Jakarta, tasked with putting down a small rebellion by locals seeking an independent state.