Fighting between the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and the Indonesian armed forces intensified in April impacting many indigenous Christian communities. Between 12 and 15 April, Indonesian army military operations were reportedly carried out in Pogoma and Kemburu in the Papua Highlands of Central Papua Province, involving both ground troops and air attacks.
These operations caused destruction to residential areas, left civilians dead and injured, and forced large numbers of people to flee their homes. Approximately seven villages were directly affected, with some areas still difficult to access. Local residents testified that attacks took place in locations long considered civilian and displacement zones.
West Papua is the easternmost region of modern-day Indonesia. While Indonesia is majority Muslim, the indigenous peoples of West Papua are almost entirely Christian.
West Papua, once a colony of the Netherlands, was handed over to Indonesia during the 1960s. This decision provoked widespread protests and an independence movement that continues until today.
Situation of 107,000 displaced ‘alarming’
Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 25 March 2026, CSI’s Joel Veldkamp noted that this year the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in West Papua has increased to 105,000. Just last year that figure was 85,000. This rapid increase in the number of IDPs points to the acceleration of the Indonesian government’s military operations in the region.
According to the Papuan Council of Churches, the number of IDPs increased further, to more than 107,000 people, in April. In a press release, the Council warned that their situation is becoming increasingly alarming due to a shortage of food and inadequate protection. Access to healthcare is extremely limited, with many denied the urgent medical treatment they require.
Plea to government to end the violence
The situation is further aggravated by the expanding militarisation of civilian spaces, including villages, churches, schools, and marketplaces, it said. This has severely disrupted social life, education, economic activities, and the freedom of communities to worship peacefully.
The Papuan Council of Churches called on the Indonesian government to end the violence carried out by the armed forces and to acknowledge and address the growing crisis of internally displaced persons. The Council also urged Christians worldwide to provide support and pray for those affected by the conflict.
Terrorised by the Indonesian army
Local partners of Christian Solidarity International (CSI) recently visited newly displaced people in Nabire on the northern coast of West Papua. This latest group of families was forced to flee fighting in the Papua Highlands in the summer and fall of 2025.
Among the recently displaced are Agulina Wonda and Mirena Kogoya, both from Central Papua Province.
Agulina tells CSI’s partner that she and her husband fled, finally arriving in Nabire, when an Indonesian army task force began door-to-door operations, searching for men to interrogate. “There were cases of wrongful arrest where people were shot, killed, and buried right beside civilian homes,” she says. Agulina’s house was one of those occupied by the task force.
“We lost everything, our house, ten pigs, and a garden that had just been planted in April with long beans, green beans, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and carrots,” says Agulina.
“I feel traumatized because of the behaviour of the task force — they have taken away my life and my joy. “
Soldiers open fire on sleeping civilians
Mirena and her husband first fled Hitadipa District in May 2025, when the armed forces shot three young men including Mirena’s nephew. “While we were still mourning my nephew’s death, another tragedy followed — the head of Hitadipa District was burned alive inside a honai [indigenous Papuan traditional round house],” she recalls.
In July, they returned home, believing it was safe to do so. Instead, they found themselves under task force surveillance.
On 15 October, the couple hosted a group of people who had been working together to prepare for the inauguration of a new church in Hitadipa. During the day, everything seemed peaceful. But during the night members of the task force burst into the house and opened fire on those inside. Afterwards the soldiers dug shallow graves for the dead, depriving them of even a decent burial.
Mirena, who had witnessed the killing, fled again with her family as the village continued to come under attack. Like Agulina, she lost everything she possessed.
“The Christmas celebrations and church inauguration we once looked forward to in our homeland are now forgotten,” she tells CSI’s partner organisation. “Today, our reality is only survival — seeking protection from the violence of both the task force and the TPNPB.”
Support for the newly displaced
Many of the recent arrivals in Nabire are living with relatives in overcrowded homes and receive little or no support from the authorities.
CSI’s partner is providing emergency support, including food, clothing and medicines, to the newcomers. It also supports established IDP communities through medium- and long-term livelihood initiatives such as funding for small grocery stores, seedlings and tools for gardening, catfish farming, and pig keeping.
