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Over 1,500 Indonesian troops landed in Papua in October to provide security' around the establishment of the new Papuan Peoples' Council'. Papuan protests against the council are growing, with many claiming that its members were all appointed by officials rather than being elected. Those rejecting the council are facing intimidation by the army.
Many of the soldiers have been sent to remote villages. Hundreds of Papuan tribal people have died in recent years after their villages were occupied by the army, forcing them to flee into the jungle.
