Between September and October 2025, West Papua experienced widespread internal displacement affecting more than 102,966 civilians across multiple regencies due to military operations and armed conflict (see table below).
The vast majority of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are indigenous Papuans. The most severe crises occurred in Intan Jaya, where successive military operations in September displaced entire villages. A particularly deadly operation in Soanggama on 15 October killed 15 people and displaced 145 residents to Hitadipa. Simultaneously, Teluk Bintuni saw 238 people flee to the forests following armed clashes on 11 October. Approximately 2,000-2,300 residents fled their homes in Lanny Jaya after a military helicopter operation on 5 October disrupted a church service. Paniai experienced the displacement of 1,130 people after security forces occupied a community health center, and Yalimo saw over 600 residents, including teachers and civil servants, flee to Wamena in September 2025 due to civil unrest in the town of Elelim.
The humanitarian conditions across all displacement sites were uniformly dire, characterized by acute shortages of food, medicine, clean water, and shelter. IDPs sheltering in forests faced particularly harsh conditions with minimal humanitarian access, while those in evacuation camps struggled with severe overcrowding, inadequate resources, and the complete cessation of daily activities. The situation is further complicated by communication difficulties, restricted humanitarian access due to security force controls, and the presence of vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, and elderly persons without specialized support services.
Military occupation of civilian infrastructure, including schools, churches, and health centers, not only triggered initial displacement but also prevented returns and disrupted essential services. This pattern continues to recur in the context of armed conflict in West Papua, despite heavy criticism from national human rights observers. In February 2025, the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) condemned the use of public facilities such as schools, district offices, and churches as security posts by the Indonesian military (TNI) and police in West Papua, stating that it constitutes a human rights violation.
This crisis reveals a systematic pattern of military operations that disproportionately affect civilian populations and violate principles of distinction between combatants and non-combatants. The long-term nature of these displacements, with some populations like those in Pegunungan Bintang displaced since 2021 and over 10,000 Nduga IDPs living in Jayawijaya since December 2019, indicates an entrenched humanitarian emergency requiring sustained attention. The IDPs refuse to return until military forces withdraw from their villages.
Intan Jaya
Multiple waves of displacement occurred in Intan Jaya Regency during September and October 2025 due to Indonesian military operations affecting several villages across different districts. The operations disrupted civilian life and forced entire communities to flee their homes, seeking safety in forests, neighbouring villages, and district centres.
In September 2025, two major displacement events took place. On 11 September, military operations began around 5:00 am in the Sugapa District, affecting five indigenous villages, including Jalai Village. The entire populations of these villages fled to the forests and nearby villages. Indonesian military reportedly occupied the YPPK Jalai Elementary School and Fransiskus Jalai Catholic Church, transforming the public facilities into military posts. The operation occurred after TPNPB shot down a military drone on 10 September, leading to increased tensions and additional troop deployments. Two weeks later, on 25 September, military operations expanded to affect five more villages: Bulapa, Gamagae, Yuwaitapa, Yoparu, and Galunggama. According to information from local sources, residents from these communities fled to seek refuge in Sugapa town and Ugimba District.
The displacement crisis intensified when a military operation in Soanggama village on 15 October 2025 resulted in 15 deaths, including 9 civilians and 6 TPNPB members. The operation reportedly caused residents from the villages Soanggama, Janamba, and Kulapa to flee to the Hitadipa District center. A total of 145 displaced persons were documented in Hitadipa, consisting of 68 women, 38 men, and 39 children. The situation remained volatile as military operations continued even in areas where September IDPs had sought refuge, particularly in Ugimba District, where armed clashes occurred on 12 October.
The humanitarian situation remained critical throughout both months, with displaced communities experiencing disrupted access to healthcare, education, and economic activities. At least one child death was reported on 4 September due to the inability to access medical care in time. The IDPs continued to live in fear and trauma. Their villages remain under military control. IDPs in Hitadipa called for assistance from local government officials, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian intervention and government support.
Teluk Bintuni
Local observers documented internal displacement in Teluk Bintuni Regency, West Papua Province, following an armed clash on 11 October 2025 between TPNPB combatants and Indonesian security forces in Moyeba Village, North Moskona District. The incident resulted in the death of one TNI soldier and left three others critically injured, with one military rifle reportedly taken by TPNPB forces. The violent confrontation created security tensions that forced hundreds of civilians from two districts to flee their homes and seek shelter in the surrounding forests.
The displacement affected nine villages across two districts in Teluk Bintuni Regency. In North Moskona District, six villages were impacted: Moyeba Satu, Mesum, North Moyeba, East Moyeba, West Moyeba, and Meven. In the Far North Moskona District, three villages reported displacements: Inovina, Mosror, and East Mesyem. According to records compiled by 18 October 2025, a total of 238 people had fled to the forests. An unspecified number of other residents fled to Bintuni City. Among those documented in forest camps were predominantly women, children, and elderly persons.
The humanitarian conditions for IDPs remained dire as they sheltered in the forests with severely limited resources. IDPs faced acute shortages of food, medicine, proper shelter, emergency tents, and health services. All normal community activities ceased, with schools and churches temporarily closing as teachers and others fled alongside the general population. Communication with displaced communities proved extremely difficult due to telecommunication network disruptions and security force restrictions for humanitarian workers, making it challenging to verify exact numbers and assess the full extent of their needs.
Lanny Jaya
According to media reports, internal displacement in Lanny Jaya Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province, occurred following a military operation in the Wunabugu Village, Melagi District, involving two military helicopters on 5 October 2025. The helicopters caused immediate panic among the villagers, most of whom were reportedly attending church service when the military forces approached. The sudden attack prevented worshippers from proceeding with Holy Communion and caused the entire community to flee. Two villagers have been reported missing since the operation.
Approximately 2,000 to 2,300 residents from Wunabugu Village and surrounding areas fled to Yigemili Village, where they established evacuation camps. The IDPs consisted of children, mothers, and fathers who sought refuge in two traditional houses and two government-provided aid tents. The displacement affected a broader region beyond the Melagi District, with concerns raised about similar situations in the districts of Melagineri, Wano Barat, Kwiyawage, and Goa Balim. As of 27 October 2025, the IDPs remained in evacuation sites without adequate access to basic necessities. The ongoing military presence in their home villages prevented displaced persons from returning, as TNI personnel continued to occupy the area where the raid occurred. The IDPs firmly refused to return to their homes until military personnel withdrew from their villages, stating they would remain in evacuation camps until the end of the year if necessary.
The humanitarian conditions in the evacuation camps remain challenging, with IDPs experiencing severe shortages of food and drinking water. Daily community activities were temporarily ceased, including farming, hunting, gardening, education, health services, and religious worship. Children were unable to attend school, and residents could not access their gardens or forests for subsistence activities due to fear of military presence. The Lanny Jaya Regency Government, led by Regent Aletinus Yigibalom, responded by distributing basic food aid, including rice, sugar, coffee, and instant noodles, through the Social Services Agency starting 6 October 2025, with distribution points in Wunabunggu Mebenga Village, Yigemili Goyage Village, and Mbu Village.
Paniai
Between 20 and 25 September 2025, local observers documented internal displacements in Paniai Regency, Central Papua Province, following the occupation of a community health centre in Pasir Putih Village, Ekadide District, by joint security forces. On 20 September, security forces entered Pasir Putih Village without prior notification. On 22 September, security forces forcibly broke doors of the local health centre and converted it into a military post.
As a result of this unauthorised military occupation and ongoing patrols, residents from the seven villages, Pasir Putih, Debamomaida, Kogenepa, Widimeida, Makidimi, Kagokadagi, and Gakokotu, fled their homes, forming a first wave of IDPs totalling 930 people. An additional 250 residents from Totiyo Village, Teluk Deya District, reportedly fled due to the proximity of security operations, bringing the total number of IDPs to 1,130 people.
Yalimo
Civil unrest in Elelim District, the administrative capital of Yalimo Regency, led to the forced displacement of over 600 residents, most of whom fled to Wamena, Jayawijaya Regency, in the neighbouring Papua Pegunungan Province between 16 and 23 September 2025. The displaced, comprising families, teachers, health workers, civil servants, and migrants from various Indonesian provinces, sought refuge in Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya Regency.
Official data recorded 684 IDPs registered in four waves of arrivals. The first wave of evacuees departed Elelim in the early hours of 17 September 2025, under police and military escort. They arrived at the Jayawijaya Police Headquarters (Mapolres Jayawijaya), which was converted into a temporary shelter and reception point. Upon arrival, police officers provided emergency food supplies, medical examinations, and psychological support. Several evacuees were immediately reunited with relatives or local community networks, while others remained temporarily under police protection. It is believed that most IDPs returned to Elelim by the end of October 2025.
Many of the displaced came from non-Papuan backgrounds, including residents from South Sulawesi, Java, Southeast Sulawesi, NTT, and Maluku, who had been living and working in Yalimo. Some fled carrying only the clothes on their backs, reporting the loss of homes, shops, and personal belongings due to the destruction in Elelim. The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) and the Papua Pegunungan Provincial Government distributed ready-to-eat meals and basic supplies on 22 September 2025.
Yahukimo
Armed clashes between July and August 2025 triggered a new wave of mass internal displacement in Yahukimo Regency, Papua Pegunungan. On 1 September, human rights defenders recorded displacement among the five indigenous Korowai sub-tribes Gobkaka, Bese, Arintap, Inta-Maya, and Arupkor around Dekai. The IDPs remain scattered across remote forest areas and nearby villages, with little or no access to food, medical services, or humanitarian aid. Continuous military patrols and sporadic occurrences of armed clashes have created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, preventing many from returning to their homes.
Puncak
A severe humanitarian crisis unfolded in Puncak Regency, Central Papua, resulting from an escalation of armed conflict that persisted for nearly nine months by October 2025. The prolonged conflict created what the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) characterized as an extraordinary displacement situation, with more than 9,261 people living in tent camps. This represented one of the largest displacement crises in the region. During a week-long visit to Central Papua in mid-October 2025, Komnas HAM Chair Anis Hidayah and Commissioner Abdul Haris Semendawai assessed the situation in Puncak Regency, particularly in Ilaga and Gome areas, as well as displacement sites in Nabire and Timika.
The IDPs from Puncak live in multiple locations, with the largest concentration of 9,261 IDPs in tent camps in Ilaga, while approximately 1,000 additional IDPs are scattered between Nabire and Timika. The IDPs have been living in displacement camps for approximately nine months by October 2025. Those who fled to Nabire and Timika also faced challenging living conditions, with four to five families often crammed into single small houses, each family consisting of five to seven people. Inadequate housing conditions create severe overcrowding and health risks.
The humanitarian conditions in displacement sites are concerning across all locations. IDPs experience acute shortages of daily necessities, and there are no special services for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, children, and the elderly. Health conditions deteriorated significantly, with IDPs falling ill without access to adequate medical care. Children lost their right to education, as many schools have been damaged or burned down, teachers' houses destroyed, and school assets lost. Those children who could attend school in displacement areas had to cover fees themselves, creating additional financial burdens for displaced families who already face economic challenges.
IDPs remain hesitant to return as non-organic security forces have been stationed in their home villages. They expressed a desire to return to their hometowns but insisted on the gradual and measured withdrawal of non-organic troops from the villages as a precondition for their safe return.
Pegunungan Bintang
IDPs from the districts Kiwirok and Oksop continue to live in the forest in semi-permanent camps, isolated from healthcare, education, and or humanitarian support. The IDPs from Kiwirok have been living in such camps since being displaced by military operations in September 2021. The Indonesian military's restrictions on aid access have prevented local and international humanitarian organisations from reaching the affected population.
HRM received information regarding repeated aerial bombardments of a TPNPB outpost and IDP camps in the Kiwirok District, between 6 and 12 October 2025, using fighter jets, drones, and heavy explosives equipped with shrapnel to create greater harm to persons. First investigations of explosive fragments and shrapnel indicate that the Indonesian Air Force (AURI) may have used US-manufactured MK 81 or MK 82 conventional bombs. Similar weapons systems have been consistently used against both armed TPNPB forces and civilian settlements in Kiwirok since 2021. An aerial attack on 12 October was reportedly directed at residential houses. One bomb reportedly struck a roof, bounced off, and exploded in the yard. A second bomb exploded nearby. Two grenades were dropped directly next to the cooking area, though both failed to detonate. The attacks killed one domesticated piglet and severely damaged land, trees, and plantations located around the craters from explosions.
The systematic use of advanced weapons systems, including fighter jets, combat drones, and conventional shrapnel bombs, near civilian settlements risks civilian lives in violation of international humanitarian law. West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) members are indigenous locals. They live with and among the IDPs. However, the presence of combatants among civilians is not a sufficient reason to justify indiscriminate attacks directed against civilian settlements, where a clear separation between civilians and targets can no longer be guaranteed.
Nduga
Since February 2023, more than 10,000 IDPs from Nduga have been estimated to live in the Jayawijaya Regency alone. Several thousand IDPs from Nduga Regency and neighbouring Puncak Regency have remained displaced in Kwiyawagi, Lanny Jaya Regency, as a result of ongoing military operations in their home areas. They live in makeshift shelters without reliable food, clean water, or medical care. According to local reports, the occupation of the newly built Agandugume health centre by the military and tight control over air transportation impede healthcare and humanitarian aid. Thousands of other IDPs from Nduga live scattered across other major cities and neighbouring regencies across West Papua.
IDPs across West Papua, Indonesia, as of 28 October 2025 (see original document)