On 14 June 2024, Mr Pilemon Gobai, 42, was unlawfully killed, and Mr Melkias Yatipai,47, a tribal leader, sustained a bullet injury on the left heel as security force members raided the area around the Odiyai Village. Security force members opened fire at Mr Gobai and Mr Yatipai as they were on the way to their home village in the neighbouring Dogomo District. A group of women and children who had left the Odiyai Village ahead of both victims, were reportedly checked by a group of patrolling security force members at Onowogeugida Mountain. They were allowed to proceed to Dogomo (see sketch below).
Shortly after, Mr Gobai and Mr Yatipai were ambushed at Idege Hill, with bullets coming from Onowogeugida Mountain. Mr Melkias Yatipai, sustained a bullet injury in the heel but was still able to escape the security forces He was afraid to seek treatment at the hospital and using only traditional forms of treatment.
Mr Pilemon Gobai sustained a lethal gunshot wound during the ambush and died on the spot. According to the information received, the projectile entered near the spine and exited through the stomach. There was a larger bruise on the victim’s forehead.
On 16 June 2024, relatives found the body at Onowogeugida Hill, two days after the shooting. They carried the body down the hill to the main road, from where security forces organised a vehicle to bring the body to the General Hospital in Madi. The relatives were not allowed to accompany the body. Medical personnel conducted an external post-mortem examination, without performing a forensic examination of the body. The relatives received the body through the military on 18 June 2024. It was buried next to his house (see photos below).
Following the raid in Odiyai Village, the chief of the Damai Cartenz Unit, Commissioner Faizal Ramadhani, made public statements on 17 June 2024, according to which his men found the body which they believed to be a killed TPNPB member. Ramadhani added that the dead suspect did not carry a firearm but an 80 cm long machete which his men seized as evidence.
Security forces also killed TPNPB member, Mr Denis Murib, during the raid. On 19 June 2024, the TPNPB spokesperson, Mr Sebby Sambom, confirmed the killing of their combatant on local media.
Security force raid in Paniai Regency
A security force raid in the Bibida District, Paniai, Regency, on 14 June 2024 caused the internal displacement of an estimated more than 5,000 persons in six districts (see table in Annex). Churches seized operations in the affected villages. Previously, joint police and military forces established checkpoints and controlled passing vehicles in Enarotali Town and the Madi Village on 12 June 2024.
Bibida and the surrounding districts are inhabited by the indigenous Moni and Me tribes. People fled their houses in fear of the security force operations and armed violence between the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and Indonesian security forces. The raid was launched after TPNPB members shot dead a civilian Non-Papuan in the Kopo Village, Paniai Timur District, on 11 June 2024.
According to information from local sources, security forces entered the Bibida District from various directions, on land from water, and in the air around 7.00 am (see sketch below).
1. Damai Cartenz members took position on Ekaugida Mountain towards Bibida District (security force members of this unit are alleged to have executed Mr Pilemon Gobai).
2. About ten police trucks entered Bibida on the main road
3. Damai Cartenz members entered Bibida with boats on Weya River
4. Four helicopters circling over Bibida to support ground forces. One helicopter reportedly released shots toward the ground
The security force members announced that all civilians should immediately leave the district. Following the order, villagers in Bibida District, as well as people from villages in the East Paniai District, and the districts Agadide, Komopa, Duma-Dama, and Dogomo gathered at the courtyard of YPPK Bibida Elementary School and at Bibida Catholic Church from where security forces brought them to the Salib Suci Catholic Church in Madi. Many fled by food.
On 26 July 2024, the 302 Siliwangi Raider Task Force dropped building materials for a military and a police post in central Bibida District and the Ugidimi Village. The military post had been planned since 2020. Security forces have repeatedly approached the Moni community in Bibida to get their consent. However, all components of the Bibida District community refused the formation of new security posts in Bibida.
Photos of MR Pilemon Gobai’s body at the mortuary in Madi Hospital (left) and at the site of the crime (bottom right)
Grave next to Mr Gobai’s house (bottom)
Sketch of the raiding area in Bibida
Security force raid in Bibida, 14 June 2024
