Timika – One man was killed and at least three injured on Monday in a clash between Indonesian police and dozens of locals over a security check dispute in the restive province of Papua, an official said.

Police stationed at an airport in Wamena district had wanted to check two bags "believed to contain suspicious items" arriving from Jayapura district but were refused permission, provincial police spokesman Wachyono said.

"They [the locals] then attacked police with sharp objects and stones. In that situation, police had to open fire," he said. Three policemen were injured by flying stones, he added.

"Police wanted to check those bags because several times, we've found evidence that ammunition and weapons had been sent through Wamena," Wachyono said. Three people were arrested for allegedly attacking the police, he added.

Papuan tribal representative Dominikus Sorabut, from the Papuan Customary Council, said the locals were members of the council's security body and the bags had contained berets.

He alleged that one of the group was killed and two others wounded when police shot at them, but police said an autopsy needs to be carried out to determine the cause of death.

The police are widely accused of abusing the basic rights of indigenous Melanesians in Papua, where a low-level insurgency has simmered for decades.

Last month police killed two men and wounded a woman after a dispute over a traffic accident spun out of control in West Papua province.