Aida Uli, Jayapura – The Papuan Council of Churches (PCC) has recorded that as of October 2025 the number of refugees in various regions of Papua has reached 103,218.

The majority of refugees are indigenous Papuans. They have fled to other areas considered safe due to military operations and armed conflict with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).

PCC staff member Eneko Pahabol said that military operations and armed conflicts have disrupted life and civil services, leading to the emergence of new refugees in Papua. The largest impact of the armed conflict has occurred in Intan Jaya, Central Papua, where military operations have forced entire villages into refugee camps.

"Including the October 15 incident (in Intan Jaya) that killed 15 people and caused 145 residents to flee to Hitadipa", said Pahabol at the Literacy and Resilience Festival, Nurturing Memories Through Words in Jayapura city, Papua, on Friday November 21.

According to Pahabol, clashes occurred in Teluk Bintuni regency, Southwest Papua, on October 11, displacing 238 people. Meanwhile, a military operation using helicopters in Lanny Jaya, Papua Highlands, on October 5, caused 2,000 to 2,300 residents to flee their villages.

Aside from these new refugee camps, the Papua region is also still accommodating long-term refugees, such as those in the Bintang Highlands who have been displaced since 2021, and more than 10,000 refugees from Nduga regency, who have been in Jayawijaya since 2019.

"This shows that Central Papua is facing an ongoing humanitarian crisis with a pattern of mass displacement year after year", he said.

He said that in Yahukimo on October 30, a gun fight broke out in regency capital of Dekai displacing 222 civilians, including 123 men and women, 10 infants and four pregnant women.

To this day, the refugees remain in the forest without access to food, water or healthcare. Meanwhile, in Intan Jaya, a military operation forced residents from 10 villages to flee.

"In Paniai, Central Papua, between September 20 and 25, security forces occupied a community healthcare centre, displacing 1,130 people", he said.

Pahabol said that in Yalimo regency, in the Papua Highlands, more than 684 residents of the regency capital of Elim fled to Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, due to unrest between September 16 and 23.

Then in Maybrat regency, Southwest Papua, 138 refugees from five districts were reported killed and the local government has been facilitating the repatriation of refugees since November 2022.

"In Puncak regency (Central Papua), there has been an armed conflict for almost nine months, creating a major crisis with 9,261 refugees. They live in tents in Ilaga (the regency capital), with around 1,000 others spread across Nabire and Mimika regencies", he said.

According to Pahabol, the number of refugees from Nduga regency in Jayawijaya since 2023 has reached 10,000. Thousands of other refugees from Nduga and Puncak remain in Kwiyawagi without healthcare and limited access to air transportation.

The PCC is also urging the government to immediately withdraw troops from civilian areas as the military's presence there is deemed unnecessary.

They said that the government must also provide immediate medical access to treat internally displaced persons from ten regions in Papua. In addition to medical access, the government must also provide access for media coverage.

"Peaceful dialogue is needed between the ULMWP [the United Liberation Movement for West Papua]-TPNPB and the government, mediated by a neutral party. The armed conflict will never end if the government doesn't open up. Therefore, we must continue to speak out about this", said Pahabol.

Meanwhile, Novita Opki, an advocacy staff member at Tong Pu Ruang Aman (TPRA), said that resolving the armed conflict in Papua must involve international actors. She underlined Indonesia's participation in ratifying various international legal conventions.

"For example, the Geneva Convention, Indonesia can be sued, and legal instruments can be used as a means of counter-resistance. However, this process is not solely the responsibility of advocacy groups, it must be nurtured as a collective struggle", said Opki.

According to Opki, in the southern part of Papua, specifically in Merauke regency, customary lands are being subtly seized for investment purposes.

"Over the course of the Prabowo-Gibran presidency, this regime has become bloated with land acquisition for military-driven extractive industries", she said referring to the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Dewan Gereja Papua Catat Ada 103.218 Pengungsi Di Tanah Papua".]

Source: https://jubi.id/polhukam/2025/dewan-gereja-papua-catat-ada-103-218-pengungsi-di-tanah-papua/