Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The police in Papua have arrested two civilians suspected of murdering two personnel from the South Sumatra Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in Utikini village, Tembagapura, Mimika, Papua.

The two are also suspected of stealing weapons in the village on Jan. 1. They were identified only by the initials JW and MW.

"Both have been named suspects and are currently under intensive investigation," Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Yotje Mende said in Jayapura on Wednesday. Yotje said they had been named suspects after a series of investigative processes.

JW admitted having participated in the attack on the two murdered Brimob personnel. While, MW was caught red-handed carrying a bayonet covered in blood a moment after the Brimob personnel were found dead.

MW was sent for medical treatment in Jakarta because of injuries received during his arrest, while JW was treated at Tembagapura Hospital for gunshot wounds incurred during crossfire between an armed civilian group and the police-military joint team on Jan. 7.

The crossfire took place in a fight between the joint team and the civilian armed group under the leadership of Ayub Waker, who is suspected of being behind the killing the two Brimob personnel and a PT Freeport Indonesia security guard.

The two Brimob personnel killed in Utikini were First Brig. Ryan Hariansah. 22, and First Brig. Muhammad Andriadi, 22. The Freeport security guard was Suko Miartono, 33. The guns of both the murdered Brimob men went missing in the killing and are believed to have been taken by the murderers.

The same joint team also raided an illegal gold mining area along the banks of Kabur River, between Camp David and Utikini village. They evicted some 1,000 illegal miners from the area and sent them home. They also built 51 security posts along the area.

"We built the posts to prevent illegal miners from returning," said Yotje, adding that the authorities were concerned about security, as well as the safety of the miners as the area was prone to landslides.The unauthorized miners, according to Yotje, had also been targeted for extortion by civilian armed groups, making them a source of funds for these groups. "We dispersed the miners as a way of cutting off funds and food supplies used by the civilian armed groups," Yotje said.

In relation to another deadly shooting, National Police Headquarters has set up a fact-finding team to investigate a shooting in Enarotali, Papua, during which four civilians were killed and dozens of others injured on Dec. 8.

The four were named as Yulian Yeimo, Simon Degei, Alpius Gobay and Alpius Youw. The fact-finding team was set up under the orders of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who during a Christmas visit to the province instructed the police to carry out a thorough investigation of the case.

Yotje said his side had encountered difficulties investigating the case, especially in getting information from witnesses. So far nobody has been named a suspect in the case.

Head of Paniai Customary Council, John Gobay, said that local people had lost trust in law enforcement. "They feel it is useless to say anything about the incident, because they saw for themselves what happened. They are angry and hurt," John said.

The incident occurred when local people launched an attack on the local military office following the removal of logs put in the road to stop traffic into the town.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/15/suspected-brimob-killers-arrested.html