TPNPB-OPM reveals reason for shooting 3 civilians in Yahukimo

The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) has claimed responsibility for the shooting deaths of three civilians in Yahukimo, Papua Pegunungan, on July 21, 2026. TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom stated that the victims, Yantinus alias Kumis Kogoya, his wife Shelly Wenda, and another woman from the Unaukam tribe, were executed because they were accused of being intelligence agents for the security forces.

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Traitors must be executed, and we have proof they betrayed the Papuan people.

Sambom alleged that Kumis Kogoya and Shelly Wenda had facilitated the entry of heavy equipment into the Yahukimo region for a company. This, he claimed, was accompanied by the deployment of Indonesian military (TNI) personnel, which threatened the TPNPB militia. Furthermore, Kumis Kogoya was accused of helping TNI soldiers locate TPNPB hideouts in Yahukimo, leading to the deaths of several TPNPB members in surprise attacks.

While Sambom acknowledged that Kumis Kogoya was once part of the TPNPB militia, his meeting with the Deputy Chief of the Yahukimo Resort Police was presented as strong evidence for the TPNPB's Kodap XVI Yahukimo and III Ndugama to label him a traitor. Sambom asserted that his group's actions adhere to the "jungle law of war," which dictates the execution of traitors or civilians collaborating with authorities for Papua's independence. He urged critics to stop forming opinions without understanding the situation on the ground.

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We are the ones who know the situation inside. So, stop building opinions without knowing the situation.

Previously, a video circulated on social media showing the TPNPB executing Kumis Kogoya and his wife on the side of the Trans Papua Road in Yahukimo, with the accusation that they were intelligence agents responsible for TPNPB casualties. In response, Brigadier General Muhammad Nas, head of the TNI Information Center, vehemently denied these claims. Nas stated that the accusation of the couple being military intelligence agents or providing information to the TNI is a "worn-out tactic by the OPM to cover up their atrocities."

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That is an old tactic by OPM to cover up their atrocities.