Security forces kill 2 Papuan rebel leaders in shootout near jointly owned US-Indonesian gold mine

By ALFIAN KARTONO
Associated Press

JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — Police say two Papuan separatist leaders were killed in a shootout between security forces and their rebel group near one of the world’s largest gold mines in Indonesia’s restive Papua region. Clashes ensued Thursday between independence rebels of the Free Papua Movement and a joint police and military force near the mining town of Tembagapura in Central Papua province, police said Sunday. The area harbors the Grasberg gold mine, nearly half-owned by U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan and run by PT Freeport Indonesia. Separatists view the mine as a symbol of Indonesian rule and have frequently targeted it. Papuan rebels have been fighting a low-level insurgency since the early 1960s when Indonesia annexed the region.