Indonesia, West Papua – Five years after the attack on the Kisor military post, various districts in the Maybrat Regency remain under heavy military occupation. At least 15 military and police posts now operate inside villages, many of them in schools, clinics, village offices and family homes. Residents describe checkpoints, drone surveillance, curfews on their own gardens and threats from military commanders. Many of those who have returned to their home villages describe their daily live as living "in the shadow of the gun".

The most significant recent outbreak of armed violence in Maybrat occurred on 13 August 2026, as armed military personnel reportedly opened fire on an indigenous forest camp in the Ainot area, where a dozen internally displaced persons (IDPs), including three toddlers, were preparing dinner. Mrs Anike Fatie, 47, Mrs Selfiana Sorry, 66, and Mr Silfester Asem, 21 sustained bullet injuries during the incident. All survivors and witnesses interviewed say the shooters were affiliated with the Indonesian military (TNI).

Five years of security approach

On 2 September 2021, Members of the West Papua National Liberation Army attacked the Koramil military post at Kisor, Aifat Selatan District, killing four soldiers. The state responded with a large deployment of non-organic troops from outside the region. Military forces have been deployed to various districts in the wider Aifat area since the violent incident. Posts justified on security grounds have instead produced long-term fear, falling hardest on women and children and disrupting health care, schooling, livelihoods and cultural life.

Most residents fled their villages after the 2021 operations. While residents in some of the districts have partly returned home, many remain internally displaced. The 11 people attacked at Ainot were also IDPs, temporarily living in the regency capital Kumurkek. They had gone to their customary land to fish and gather food.

Soldiers in schools, clinics and homes

Since late 2025, security in the conflict area has been handled by the Indonesian Navy's Marine Corps, including the RI – PNG Border Security Task Force (Satgas Pamtas Mobile), Gobang VII, 9th Marine Infantry Battalion. Field observers recorded 15 posts, 13 Marine and 2 police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in the greater Aifat area. Every post occupies a civilian building (see table below, source: independent HRD). Two health facilities, a primary school, a pastor's house, right next to a school and church, and four family homes are now military or police installations. Villagers must pass armed personnel to see a nurse, attend class or go to worship.

Village district office buildings occupied (see original document)

Daily life under surveillance

Residents describe a system of control that reaches into every part of village life. Marines stop everyone travelling on the main road, search their vehicles and photograph their identity cards and driving licences. Anyone going to their garden or customary land must first report to the Marine post, and once there they are followed by surveillance drones. At times, access to forest and gardens is banned outright because of "security operations", cutting indigenous families off from food and income.

Community life is controlled just as closely. Every village activity requires permission from the post, Marines attend to monitor it Using mobile phones near a post is forbidden. On 13 July 2026, the commander of the Marine post in Faan warned the village head and officials of consequences for any resident affiliated with the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

The threat of violence is real. In July 2026, a resident of Aisa in Aifat Timur, identified as BM, was allegedly beaten by Marines at their post after coming to hand in two bullets he had found near a villager's garden. On 15 September 2026, two military helicopters reportedly circled over Aifat Timur Tengah for about an hour, leaving residents frightened.

Together, these measures turn ordinary activities such as farming, gathering and meeting into acts that require military approval.

The shooting at Ainot, 13 August 2026

Around midday, Mr Silfester Asem was fishing on the Kamundan River with two relatives when he saw a drone above the river. When the group returned to their camp in the late afternoon, the drone was flying over the camp. At about 6:00 pm, as the women were preparing dinner, a single shot hit a dog beside the camp. Bursts of automatic fire followed, aimed at the camp.

Mrs Anike Fatie was trying to crawl under a bed when a bullet struck her right shoulder, leaving a wound that reached her head near her left ear. Mrs Selfiana Sorry was shot in the leg, the bullet passing through her thigh (see photo on top, source: independent HRD). Mr Silfester Asem was hit in the right calf as he tried to escape by jumping into the river. He swam to the bank and hid upstream until about 11:00 pm.

Another relative was swimming back across the river towards the camp when two men in green camouflage fired at him. He dived under the water, then surfaced with his hands raised. Following the initial attack two other extended family members reportedly walked towards the camp with their hands raised, shouting: "Stop, don't shoot, we are civilians."

About five armed men then entered the camp. Witnesses describe camouflage uniforms, tactical helmets, bulletproof vests and full combat equipment. One officer dragged Mrs Fatie out from under the bed, another tied a black cloth around Mrs Sorry's wound. Using military commands, they ordered everyone to lie face down and said they would fetch a vehicle, or the police, from Kumurkek. Thereupon, the five soldiers left the site and never came back.

According to testimonies, the family stayed face down for two to three hours before daring to get up. Only then did they find the two women wounded. Early on 14 August, two relatives walked until they found a phone signal to call for help. The wounded were evacuated at about 11:00 am, some 17 hours after the shooting. They were taken to Pratama Hospital in Maybrat and then referred to Sele Be Solu Regional Hospital in Sorong for surgery.

Why this matters

If the testimonies are confirmed, the Ainot shooting was an attack on unarmed civilians who posed no threat. Opening automatic fire on a camp of IDPs, violates the right to life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2005. Leaving three gunshot victims without medical care for some 17 hours compounds the violation and may amount to cruel and inhuman treatment prohibited under the ICCPR and the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

The wider pattern raises further concerns. Occupying a school, a health centre (Puskesmas) deters children from attending class and patients from seeking care. Restricting access to gardens and customary forest threatens food security and Indigenous Papuans' relationship with their land, while blanket checkpoints, ID photography, drone tracking and phone bans treat an entire population as suspects.

IDPs are owed particular protection. Under the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, IDPs must be protected from attack and supported in a safe, voluntary return. National authorities have the main responsibility for a safe return and for involving displaced people in planning it.

Impunity remains the core problem. Soldiers accused of crimes against civilians are, if at all, tried in military courts, which rarely deliver accountability that victims can trust. Although Law No 34/2004 on the TNI says soldiers who commit ordinary crimes should be tried in civilian courts, the 1997 Military Justice Law has never been changed to make that happen.

Source: https://humanrightsmonitor.org/news/maybrat-update-september-2026-living-in-the-shadow-of-the-gun