CLASHES in Papua between Indonesian security forces and a rebel group over the weekend saw five independence fighters killed, police and rebel officials confirmed today.

A joint military and police force killed the fighters from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, on Saturday in the Serambakon village in Papua Highland province, a police official said.

Security forces seized two assault rifles, a pistol, several arrows, two mobile phones, cash, more than 300 rounds of ammunition and a morning star flag, which is a symbol of the independence movement, according to the official.

The recent round of clashes began in mid-April when members of the liberation army killed at least six Indonesian troops who were searching for Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot who was abducted by the rebels in February.

Rebels in Papua have been fighting a low-level insurgency since the early 1960s when Indonesia annexed the region, which is a former Dutch colony. Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nations-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham.

Since then, the insurgency has simmered in the region, which was divided into five provinces last year to boost development in Indonesia’s poorest region.

Liberation Army spokesman Sebby Sambom confirmed the police announcement but said that losing five fighters “would not make us surrender.”

“They were the national heroes of the Papuan people,” he said.

“They died in defending the Papuan people from extinction due to the crimes of the Indonesian military and police, who are acting as terrorists.”

Saturday’s fighting was the latest in a series of violent incidents in recent years in Papua, where conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common.

Last week, rights group the Australia West Papua Association hit out at Indonesian security forces following reports of torture and killings of civilians in the region.

AWPA spokesman Joe Collins said: “Numerous reports have documented the ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua, the burning of villages during military operations and the targeting of civilians including children.”

Data collected by Amnesty International Indonesia showed at least 179 civilians, 35 Indonesian troops and nine police, along with 23 independence fighters were killed in clashes between rebels and security forces between 2018 and 2022.