Indonesia, West Papua – On 6 July 2025, a 25-year-old Papuan Villager, Mr Yemau Kiwak Magai, was reportedly executed by security force members in Gilini Village, Omukia District, Puncak Regency, Papua Tengah Province. The killing occurred during a military operation in Omukia District, beginning on Sunday, 6 July 2025.
According to the information received from various sources, Indonesian military personnel brought the body to a military post after Mr Magai was shot dead. TNI members allegedly attached an explosive device to the body and later placed it in an abandoned home in the Ilaga District, causing a detonation that incinerated both the body and the house (see photos below, source: Suara Papua).
The military operation that led to the death of Mr Yemau Kiwak Magai began late in the evening on 6 July 2025, around 11:00 pm, when security forces launched coordinated raids in the villages of Gilini, Pinapa, and Eromaga, Omukia District. During the operation, 25-year-old civilian Yemau Kiwak Magai was shot dead in Gilini village.
In the days that followed, the situation in Omukia remained tense, with reports of ongoing house burnings and heavy military presence. It was not until 21 July 2025 that Yemau's charred remains were reportedly recovered by West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) combatants (see photo on top), source: Suara Papua). Indonesian military and police authorities had yet to issue any statement acknowledging or responding to the incident.
Military raid in Omukia
In early July 2025, the Puncak Regency experienced a significant escalation in armed conflict as joint security forces launched extensive operations across the Omukia District. Reports indicate that these operations, which began on 1 July and intensified on 6 July, resulted in the displacement of at least 2,500 civilians, the burning of 21 civilian homes, and the shooting of at least three civilians – one fatally (see photos below, source: independent HRDs). Residents fled to Ilaga Town seeking safety, many finding shelter in makeshift camps with inadequate access to food, sanitation, education, or healthcare. Schools and health centres in the affected districts closed, while disease spread among displaced persons. Civil society leaders criticised the government's lack of adequate humanitarian response and called for an immediate cessation of military activities and the safe return of displaced communities.
Simultaneously, the Indonesian military accused the TPNPB of carrying out coordinated arson attacks on civilian infrastructure, including the regent's residence, a church, a health centre, and government offices in Ilaga and surrounding villages on 6 July 2025. TPNPB spokesperson, Mr Sebby Sambom, defended the attacks as acts of resistance against the militarisation of civilian spaces, saying that the Indonesian security forces had used the public facilities for military operations, constituting a direct threat to civilians and violating international humanitarian law. The TPNPB denied narratives, alleging that Mr Yemau Kiwak Magai was affiliated with the TPNPB.
Legal and human rights analysis
The killing of Mr Yemau Kiwak Magai constitutes a violation of the right to life, as protected under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State Party. His extrajudicial execution, the post-mortem desecration of his body, and the use of explosives in civilian areas may amount to war crimes under international humanitarian law (IHL), particularly Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits violence to life and person, including murder and mutilation of civilians.
Furthermore, the alleged practice of attaching bombs to deceased civilians and using them to destroy civilian homes signals a strategy of terrorising the population and targeting protected persons and objects under IHL. These acts are prohibited under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which classifies such behaviour as inhumane treatment and outrages upon personal dignity (Article 8(2)(c)(ii)).
If confirmed, these actions represent part of a broader pattern of impunity and militarisation in West Papua, in which civilians are often falsely accused of affiliation with armed pro-independence groups to justify lethal force and destruction of property. This tactic violates the principle of distinction under IHL, which mandates all conflict parties to distinguish at all times between combatants and civilians.