After Jakarta ignored a request for discussions, separatist insurgents murdered nine members of the army. Initially calling for Jakarta to recognize the region’s independence, the group announced this month that they were willing to back off and were instead looking to engage in talks.

After Jakarta ignored their call for discussions, separatist militants in Indonesia’s Papua region reportedly killed nine members of the armed forces on Sunday.

Herman Taryaman, a military spokesman in Papua, acknowledged the attack on Saturday but was unable to clarify how many soldiers were killed since communications were disrupted by severe weather.

A New Zealand pilot was kidnapped by the West Papua National Liberation Army in February. This month, the group told Reuters they were willing to back down from their initial demand that Jakarta recognize the region’s independence and were open to negotiation.

Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the rebels, said in a taped statement on Sunday, “We requested the governments of Indonesia and New Zealand to release the hostages through peaceful negotiations.”

“However, on March 23, members of the Indonesian police and military attacked people. Because of this, the TPNPB troops had threatened to exact revenge, and they had already begun, according to Sambom, who also noted that violence had continued on Sunday.

Herman refuted the claim that civilians had been attacked in March, claiming that the security forces had been defending people who had been driven from their homes by the insurgents.

Herman remarked, “Efforts to provide assistance and evacuation are still being carried out,” and he prayed for the soldiers searching for Phillip Mehrtens, the captured Susi Air pilot.

In the remote and resource-rich Papua province, a low-level struggle for independence from Indonesia has been raging for decades. Analysts say that in recent years, the war between armed rebels and security forces has dramatically escalated.

Since a contentious United Nations-supervised vote in 1969 that resulted in Indonesian authority of the former Dutch island being purchased, tensions have been building.

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