The blast occurred in the courtyard of St Paul’s Church, Intan Jaya Regency, shortly after Sunday Mass. The injured are all civilians from the local community. Indonesian authorities have not yet clarified the origin of the device, delivered by a drone, nor identified those responsible. Meanwhile, fighting between separatists and Indonesian forces intensifies.
Jayapura (AsiaNews) – An explosive device, likely dropped by a drone, exploded yesterday, 17 May, in the courtyard of St Paul’s Nabuni Mbamogo Catholic Church, in the remote Intan Jaya region of Central Papua, injuring four civilians who were leaving the place of worship after Sunday Mass.
The area is part of Bilogai Parish, Sugapa District. Many worshippers were still gathered outside the church when the attack occurred.
According to local media outlet Suara Papua, the four victims – Pit Pogau (30), Robert Nabelau (35), Pius Pogau and Piter Nabelau were hit by shrapnel, which embedded in the bodies of the first two. All four were in the church courtyard at the time of the attack.
Bilogai Parish’s pastoral team, led by Father Yanuarius Yance Yogi, head of the Moni Puncak Deanery, immediately evacuated the injured. Two were taken to the Bilogai Regional Hospital in Sugapa District, for medical treatment.
According to initial reports, a second grenade, presumably dropped by drone, was found on the same day in the courtyard of St Pete’s Mbamogo Church.
So far, neither the Indonesian police nor the Indonesian military have released official statements regarding the origin of the device or the perpetrators of the attack.
The use of drones to drop explosives is nothing new in Central Papua, where fighting between Indonesian security forces and Papuan separatist groups has intensified in recent years.
Similar incidents have already been reported in Intan Jaya and Puncak Jaya regencies, two of the most unstable areas in the region. Indonesian-held Papua remains one of the most militarised and difficult to reach areas in the country.
For decades, pro-independence movements have denounced discrimination, repression, and human rights violations by Indonesian authorities, while the Indonesian government considers Papuan armed groups to be terrorist organisations.
In the past few years, religious communities have increasingly found themselves caught up in the violent conflict. The Catholic Church, deeply rooted among Papua’s indigenous peoples, has repeatedly called for peaceful dialogue and an end to military operations that target civilians.