At least two civilians were feared dead and two others injured after an aerial bombing at a Catholic church compound in Indonesia’s Central Papua province triggered panic among parishioners. Source: UCA News.
The incident occurred around 11.30am on Sunday when the parishioners were gathered in the courtyard of the St Paulus Nabuni Catholic Church in Mbamogo village in Intan Jaya Regency.
“We had just finished Mass, and suddenly, an object fell from the air and then exploded. The shrapnel hit several people,” said an eyewitness who requested anonymity for security reasons.
Four people received serious injuries and were provided with first aid at the church, which is attached to the St Misael Bilogai parish under the jurisdiction of the Timika Diocese.
“We could only take two victims to the hospital yesterday. We plan to take two more victims to the hospital today,” said Fr Yanuarius Yance Yogi, the parish priest at Bilogai.
The priest whose parish serves as a hub for the local Catholic community in the central highlands of Papua said drones are frequently seen flying over the area.
“But we could not confirm whether the flying devices were used for the attack,” Fr Yance Yogi told UCA News.
He described the incident as “extremely frightening”, while adding that “people could die anytime and anywhere”.
Village leaders reportedly held an emergency meeting to express concern over the congregation’s safety and called for a transparent investigation to prevent rumours from escalating tensions.
Reports circulating on social media said two of the injured had died and alleged that the Indonesian military had carried out the bombing.
As of yesterday, there was no independent confirmation of this information, nor any official statement from the military regarding its alleged involvement or use of drones in the incident.
FULL STORY
Aerial bombing of church alarms Catholics in Indonesia’s Papua (By Jacobus E. Lato, UCA News)
