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Indonesia investigates possible ISIS link in Papua riots

The Indonesian National Police's Counterterrorism Squad, Densus 88, is probing a likely involvement of the Islamic state (ISIS) group in a string of riots in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, Indonesia’s Antara News Agency reported.
Indonesia investigates possible ISIS link in Papua riots ảnh 1In the West Papua provincial capital of Manokwari, a rally against the alleged racist slurs took a violent turn on August 19, with some protesters setting ablaze a local parliamentary building and tires in several parts of the city. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian NationalPolice's Counterterrorism Squad, Densus 88, is probing a likely involvement ofthe Islamic state (ISIS) group in a string of riots in the Indonesian provincesof Papua and West Papua, Indonesia’s Antara News Agency reported.

The police are working all-out to unearth themasterminds behind the riots, said Chief of the Public Relations Bureau of theNational Police Brigadier General Dedi Prasetyo.

A string of violent rallies broke out in severalparts of Papua and West Papua as an upshot of the alleged racist slurs againstPapuan students in Surabaya, East Java.

In the West Papua provincial capital ofManokwari, a rally against the alleged racist slurs took a violent turn onAugust 19, with some protesters setting ablaze a local parliamentary buildingand tires in several parts of the city.

Demonstrators went on a rampage, vandalizing andsetting ablaze several government buildings.

The police have alleged that Papuan separatistfigure Benny Wenda had masterminded the riots. He is believed to havedisseminated hoaxes and attempted to provoke on social media.

However, the police cannot take legal measuresagainst Wenda, as he is no longer an Indonesian citizen.

Earlier, an investigation, jointly conducted bythe National Police, the National Intelligence Agency and the National Cyberand Encryption Agency, had discovered 1,750 Facebook and Twitter accounts thathad been the source of 32,000 fake news articles and provocative content aboutthe current security situation in Papua. Some of these accounts were operatedfrom overseas.

The findings were already reported to theCommunication and Informatics Ministry. All of the fake news articles have beendeleted from Facebook and Twitter.

Police have named 57 suspects in anarchist violence in Papua and 21 suspects inriots in West Papua.-VNA
VNA
# Indonesian National Police#Counterterrorism Squad#Islamic state#Antara News Agency#Papua#West Papua#Papuan students#Benny Wenda#Vietnam#VietnamPlus#Viet Nam News
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