REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TIMIKA -- The Indonesian Army personnel managed to evacuate 13 elementary school teachers from Aroanop kampong, Tembagapura sub-district, Mimika District, Papua Province, on Thursday at 9:05 a.m. local time. Led by Colonel Frits Pelamonia, the military officers used two helicopters to evacuate seven female and six male teachers.

Pelamonia said there were a total of 18 teachers comprising nine teachers in Aroanop elementary school and nine teachers in Jagamin elementary school. However, five teachers could not join the evacuation process because of bad weather.

The evacuation prioritized female teachers and those who were prosecuted or raped by members of an armed criminal group in Papua. Most of the teachers broke into tears upon arrival in Timika, and one of them fell unconscious. They were later taken to their respective homes.

Philipus Lefteuw, principal of Aroanop elementary school, told the press that he was shocked when he heard about what had happened to his teachers.

On Friday, April 13, the teachers in Aroanop were experienced violence by armed criminal group members who ran away from Banti kampong after being chased by officers of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI).

"And on Friday morning, there was no information. In the evening, the kampong chief called and said that Aroanop was destroyed. And I asked what was destroyed, and he said outsiders (the group's members) attacked teachers in Omponi kampong and several of them became victims," Lefteuw said.

He said he regretted the tragedy because it had never happened before.

Col Muhammad Aidi, spokesman of the XVII Cenderawasih regional military command told Antara that two Bell helicopters of the Army, were deployed to evacuate the teachers.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the evacuation of contract-based teachers is successfull. They are now taken to Timika Regional Public Hospital for medical check-up," Aidi said.

Earlier, a teacher of an elementary school in Arwanop village was gang-raped by three members of armed criminal group (KKB) on April 12, 2018. The victim identified by her initial as MM fell unconscious after being raped by the three men, and later she gained her consciousness but was traumatized, Senior Commissioner Ahmad Kamal, spokesman of the Papua Provincial Police, said here Sunday.

She had fallen unconscious for quite a long time and been reported dead.

Located in a remote area in Papua, Arwanop elementary school has 17 contract-based teachers including eight female teachers.

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