JAKARTA, Aug 28 (AFP): Indonesian authorities shot dead six protesters in its unrest-wracked Papua region on Wednesday, according to an eyewitness, while authorities said a soldier was killed in the clash.
Local priest Santon Tekege said the chaos erupted after several thousand people rallied in the remote district of Deiyai - following riots and demonstrations across the region last week when buildings were torched and street battles broke out between police and protesters.
In Deiyai, authorities fired tear gas to disperse Wednesday's demonstration, sparking an angry response that saw a group of protesters attack a soldier, Tekege added.
The military then opened fire on the crowd, according to Tekege, who said he was at the demonstration.
"Six of them died," he said, adding that several more demonstrators were injured and sent to hospital.
A report in local news website Suarapapua.com earlier Wednesday also said six demonstrators were gunned down.
The deaths could not be independently verified.
Indonesia's military - long accused of committing rights abuses against Papuans during a decades-long separatist insurgency - did not confirm the civilian deaths, but said a soldier was killed and several more were injured by Papuans armed with machetes and bows and arrows.
About 150 protesters had descended on Deiyai's government office on Wednesday, demanding that the district head sign an agreement to hold a referendum on Papuan independence, said national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo.
"The report about civilian deaths is unconfirmed," he added.
Conflicting accounts are common in Papua, a resource-rich but impoverished island that shares a border with Papua New Guinea.
The recent riots appear to have been triggered by the arrest this month of dozens of Papuan students in Java, who were also pelted with racist abuse.
Police in riot gear stormed a dormitory in the city of Surabaya to force out students accused of destroying an Indonesian flag, as a group of protesters shouted racial slurs at them, calling them "monkeys" and "dogs".
Last week, the government moved to shut down internet services in the region, saying it was trying to stop a stream of offensive and racist online posts that it feared would spark more violent protests.
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