John Ahni Schertow – New raids and aerial strikes by Indonesian security forces in the central highlands of West Papua have once again forced Indigenous civilians to flee their homes and makeshift refugee camps into surrounding forests.
Residents of Puncak Regency, already displaced by earlier clashes, were among those uprooted in the latest wave of violence that began with intensified military operations at the end of January.
Civilians from at least nine villages in the Kembru District abandoned settlements and camps after what local monitors describe as air and ground strikes – including drone attacks near civilian areas – left families with little choice but to flee on foot through rugged terrain.
"This is part of their ongoing campaign of terror in the West Papuan highlands," said a statement this week from United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) President Benny Wenda, who accused Indonesian forces of breaching international law by bombing refugee sites and cutting internet access to the affected areas.
"It is an international disgrace that Indonesia has been chosen to lead the UN Human Rights Council. How can Indonesia lead on human rights when they are dropping bombs on refugees?" Wenda said. "Their presence on Donald Trump's Board of Peace is yet another hypocritical joke. Indonesia asks for justice for displaced Palestinians while displacing hundreds of thousands of Indigenous West Papuans."
Wenda's office said the populations fleeing the latest strikes include pregnant women, children and elderly people who had already been displaced by earlier fighting.
"It is only a matter of time before West Papuans begin dying as a result of these attacks, as thousands have over the past five years while living in the bush without adequate food, water, or medical care," Wenda added.
Indonesian officials have not issued a public response to the most recent attacks. However, they typically frame their military operations in West Papua – which Jakarta administers as part of the republic – as efforts to suppress armed separatist groups that have waged an insurgency for decades. But rights groups and advocacy organizations contend that the blurred distinction between combatants and civilians has contributed to widespread suffering among Indigenous Papuans.
The escalating conflict has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes across multiple regencies, with internal displacement figures reportedly topping 105,000 as of early 2026.
The latest displacement is part of a long history of violence in West Papua, where conflict has simmered since the territory was incorporated into Indonesia following a disputed UN-backed vote in the 1960s. Since then, Indigenous Papuans have reported decades of military operations, human rights abuses and restrictions on political expression tied to an ongoing independence movement.
According to some estimates, at least 100,000 Indigenous Papuans have also been killed