January 17, 2026 | 01:01 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM) claims to have shot down a Hercules aircraft passing through the Yahukimo region of the Highland Papua. The spokesperson for the TPNPB headquarters, Sebby Sambom, stated that based on reports from the Battalion Commander and HSSBI Kodap XVI Yahukimo Operations Commander, Enos M. Yoal and Wene Kobak, the shooting occurred on Friday, January 16, 2026.
"We shot it down because it entered the war zone in Yahukimo," Sebby said in a written statement on Saturday, January 17, 2026.
He explained that the shooting of the aircraft, allegedly belonging to the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), took place on Gunung Street, Yahukimo. Enos M. Yoal claimed that his forces had riddled the aircraft's body with bullets during the shooting.
Sebby urged civilian aircraft in Papua not to serve as military transport, including TNI equipment. "We are ready to shoot, please leave the war zone in Yahukimo," Sebby said.
Colonel Try Poerwanto, the commander of the Cenderawasih Regional Military Command (Kodam), stated that the widely circulated video footage of the aircraft being shot down in Yahukimo was an old issue being resurrected.
He explained that, as stated by the Commander of the Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih, the Vice President's visit to Yahukimo on Wednesday was canceled for security reasons. Therefore, he confirmed that the aircraft shot down was not an R1-2 aircraft.
"It wasn't an R1-2 aircraft that was shot down. It was an old video that was re-uploaded to create a tense situation," Try told Tempo on Saturday.
Previously, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka canceled his working visit to Yahukimo, originally scheduled for Wednesday, January 14, 2026.
"Based on security considerations, it was advised to the Vice President not to visit Yahukimo," said the Commander of the Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih, Major General Amrin Ibrahim, at the Frans Kaisiepo International Airport in Biak, Papua, on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, as quoted in the official statement from the Vice President's Secretariat.
He explained that based on intelligence information, there was detected activity by groups that had the potential to disrupt security stability in that area.
Gibran's visit to Yahukimo should have been included in the Papua agenda after he visited Senior High School 41 and the fish market in Biak Numfor on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
The Vice President's Secretariat stated in its official release that the working visit to Papua is a government effort to accelerate development in Papua.
Yahukimo is one of the areas designated by the TPNPB as a conflict zone in Papua. Sebby Sambom stated that there are 9 regions designated as conflict zones.
The nine regions referred to are Yahukimo Regency, Bintang Mountains, Nduga, Puncak Jaya, Intan Jaya, Maybrat, Dogiyai, Paniai, and Deiyai. "We will shoot anyone who enters this area," he said in April 2025.
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