Indonesia, West Papua – On 10 August 2025, Indonesian security forces opened fire on a group of indigenous Papuans, predominantly children, without prior warning in the Moanemani Airport area of Kamu District, Dogiyai Regency, Central Papua Province.
The shooting reportedly resulted in the death of 14-year-old Martinus Tebai and serious injuries to two other minors named Yuvensius Degei and Edion Tebai. The incident followed an altercation involving local youths and a migrant, reportedly linked to alcohol consumption in the area. Witnesses stated that the security forces' response was immediate and lethal, with no attempt at de-escalation, constituting a grave breach of police procedure under national and international human rights law.
According to the information from local informants and media sources, a group of youths was consuming alcoholic beverages at the Moanemani Airport area around 2:20 pm. An altercation occurred between a resident and an immigrant, who subsequently reported the incident to nearby Indonesian military personnel. Upon arrival, the military members immediately dispersed the group, releasing shots with live ammunition. Some of the shots were reportedly directed at the crowd. Yuvensius Degei and Edion Tebai, both fourteen years old, sustained gunshot wounds to their left shoulder during another shooting around 5 pm (see photos below, source: independent HRDs).
Tensions persisted until the night. At around 10:00 pm, another security force shooting in Ekemanida Village resulted in the death of Martinus Tebai. He was struck in the thigh with the bullet penetrating the genital area. Witnesses reported that residents, fearing further violence, treated the injured themselves in a remote location without medical facilities, including manually extracting bullets (see video below, source: independent HRDs). Shootings reportedly continued until the early morning of 11 August 2025.
Human rights analysis
The deliberate use of lethal force against unarmed minors without warning violates fundamental principles under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State party, particularly Articles 6 (Right to Life) and 9 (Liberty and Security of Person). It also contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), specifically Articles 6 and 37, which require States to protect children from unlawful or arbitrary deprivation of life and violence by State actors.
The indiscriminate nature of the shootings constitutes an excessive and disproportionate use of force, in violation of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The militarised approach to civilian unrest in Dogiyai reflects a pattern of impunity and disregard for the principle of necessity and proportionality in law enforcement.