Jayapura (Indonesia), Mar 16 (AP) Two people died and several others were wounded at a demonstration against the new autonomous region in Indonesia's Papua province Tuesday, police said.

A peaceful demonstration was carried out for three hours in Yahukimo district Tuesday afternoon. But friction between the people, coupled with a provocation, broke the peace as buildings were set ablaze around the demonstration area. Some participants began clashing with local police officers.

Also Read | Russia Exits European Human Rights Council Amid Moscow-Kyiv Crisis.

“There were victims both from the police officers and the community who were affected by police actions which resulted in death,” Ahmad Musthofa Kamal, spokesperson of Papua Police, said in a written statement.

Two people died of gunshots by police officers and several people were also wounded, including a police officer.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Fox News Videographer Pierre Zakrzewski Killed in Ukraine After Vehicle Struck.

Kamal said Wednesday that the situation has been brought under control. He said police are planning to add more personnel to the demonstration site, partly to ensure the police there follow procedural standards.

Conflicts between Indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common in the impoverished Papua region, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia.

Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the mineral-rich region, which is divided into two provinces, Papua and West Papua.

In recent years, some Papua students, including some who study in other provinces, have become vocal in calling for self-determination for their region. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)