News Alert Papua: Car accident involving child sparks widespread violence and displacement

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On June 6, a soldier was stabbed to death and another injured by villagers in Honai Lama district, in the central highlands, when a child was hit and injured by a military vehicle. Several hundred soldiers and policemen were reported to have violently retaliated by stabbing and beating villagers, while burning motor vehicles, buildings and houses. According to local sources, 72 houses were burned and many of the displaced fled to the forest for safety, or stayed with relatives. With the government  referring to the violence as "small-scale",  Amnesty International has urged for a proper investigation and Human Rights Watch is now calling on the government to lift the restrictions on independent reporting. About IDMCThe Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) (www.internal-displacement.org) was established by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in 1998, upon the request of the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). Monitoring internal displacement caused by conflict, violence, human rights violations and natural disasters in over 50 countries, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is widely respected as the leading source of information and analysis on internal displacement throughout the world.