5 rebels, 1 police killed in clash in Indonesia's Papua

Authorities say an Indonesian police officer and five Papuan independence fighters have been killed in an ongoing clash between security forces and a rebel group in restive Papua province

JAYAPURA, Indonesia -- An Indonesian police officer and five Papuan independence fighters were killed in an ongoing clash between security forces and a rebel group in restive Papua province, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes began early this month in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province after rebels set fire to several schools and shot to death two teachers in Beoga village in Puncak district. Police, military and intelligence forces joined together to find the attackers, who authorities believe belong to the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization. Rebels in Papua have been fighting a low-level insurgency since the early 1960s, when Indonesia annexed the region, a former Dutch colony. Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was seen as a sham by many.