Police say the three killed include two suspected separatists, and that several officers were seriously injured.

A spokesman for the Authority, Herman Wainggai, says more than 20 civilians were also injured by police.

He says the violence highlights the growing problems around the military build-up in Papua.

“The Indonesian plan for using all the airports in every place in West Papua, including Mamberamo, to drop all their troops. So that’s what I was told by people in West Papua, that the people in Mamberamo, they disagree with the military, about the plan of the Indonesian government, building up troops and sending them to Mamberamo.”

Herman Wainggai

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