On 25 September 2026, members of the 315th Infantry Battalion/Garuda and the Taipur Team of the TNI Habema Operations Command conducted a military operation in Danggomba Village, Hitadipa District, Intan Jaya Regency, Central Papua Province, resulting in the instant death of Mr Hermanus Hogajau and Mr Malobega Hogajau.
Mr Aguni Hogajau was reportedly shot in the chest. Witnesses saw Mr Ebelon Hogajau alive as he was apprehended by security force personnel. Local sources and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) confirmed that Mr Hermanus Hogajau was a TPNPB member while his three brothers were civilians. Following the shooting, the military (TNI) commanders alleged that his men had killed four members of an armed group an armed clash in Balamai Village, Hitadipa, Intan Jaya Regency.
Conflicting accounts of the operation
According to information attributed to sources on the ground, members of Task Force 315 entered the Danggomba Village, Hitadipa District, where they reportedly raided a traditional house in which security force personnel suspected TPNPB members. According to local informants Mr Hermanus Hogajau was affiliated with the TPNPB, whereas Mr Malobega Hogajau, Mr Aguni Hogajau and Mr Ebelon Hogajau were civilians. Malobega and Hermanus were reportedly shot dead while Aguni sustained a bullet wound in the chest. Ebelon was seen alive being taken by security force personnel to an unknown location.
The TPNPB subsequently confirmed that Hermanus Hogajau was affiliated with the TPNPB Kodap VIII Intan. According to the TPNPB account, Indonesian security forces surrounded the house before opening fire at the wooden house. The TPNPB further alleged that no exchange of fire occurred.
The TNI Habema Operations Command provided a substantially different account. Brigadier General Riyanto stated that TNI personnel had received information concerning the presence of an armed group associated with TPNPB. According to this version, an exchange of fire occurred after TNI personnel approached the area, resulting in four alleged members of the armed group being killed. Two bodies were reportedly recovered near the scene, while two others allegedly fell into a ravine. The TNI reported recovering firearms, ammunition, communication equipment and a Morning Star flag following the operation (see photo on top, source: independent HRD).
A further TNI account attributed to Lieutenant General Lucky Avianto, Commander of the Joint Defence Region III, stated that security forces detected the movement of Daniel Aibon Kogoya's group through drone surveillance during the early hours of 25 September 2026. According to this version, security personnel attempted to approach the group before being fired upon, resulting in an exchange of fire in which four alleged TPNPB members were killed. No TNI personnel were reportedly injured.
Human rights and humanitarian law analysis
The contradictory accounts raise serious concerns requiring an independent investigation. The decisive factual questions include whether Malobega, Aguni and Ebelon Hogajau were civilians or members of an organised armed group; whether any of them directly participated in hostilities; whether an exchange of fire actually occurred; whether any of the victims had surrendered, were wounded or otherwise hors de combat when force was used against them; and what ultimately happened to Aguni and Ebelon Hogajau. The mere fact that the four men were relatives of an acknowledged TPNPB member would not remove their protection as civilians under international humanitarian law. Civilians remain protected against direct attack unless and for such time as they directly participate in hostilities, while membership in an organised armed group for targeting purposes requires more than family association or general support. The ICRC emphasises that feasible precautions must be taken when determining a person's status and that, in case of doubt, civilian protection applies.
If the operation formed part of the ongoing non-international armed conflict in West Papua, customary international humanitarian law required the parties to distinguish at all times between persons who could lawfully be targeted and civilians protected against direct attack. Even a member of an organised armed group may not lawfully be attacked once that person has surrendered or otherwise become hors de combat. The available information is presently insufficient to determine whether Hermanus Hogajau was actively fighting, whether he had an opportunity to surrender, or whether he was already hors de combat when killed. Consequently, his acknowledged TPNPB membership does not, on its own, resolve the legality of his killing. The circumstances in which lethal force was actually employed must be established.
The allegations concerning Mr Aguni Hogajau and Mr Ebelon Hogajau require particularly urgent clarification. Preliminary field information states that Mr Aguni remained alive after sustaining a gunshot wound to the chest and that Mr Ebelon was alive when security personnel apprehended him. If accurate, the authorities would have been required to protect them against further violence and provide appropriate treatment once they were wounded, detained or otherwise hors de combat. Their subsequent whereabouts and condition should therefore be disclosed without delay. Any death occurring after capture, surrender or incapacitation would require especially rigorous investigation. International humanitarian law requires persons who no longer participate in hostilities to be treated humanely and prohibits attacks against persons hors de combat.
The profound differences between the accounts also make a prompt, independent and impartial investigation essential. Investigators should establish the exact site of the operation, identify the units and individual personnel involved, determine the sequence and direction of gunfire, document the location and condition in which each victim was found, establish whether weapons were located on or near individual victims, secure ballistic, photographic, drone and communications evidence and interview surviving witnesses. Attention should be given to the TNI's reported drone surveillance, which may provide crucial contemporaneous evidence concerning the victims' conduct immediately before and during the operation. The bodies of those killed should be subject to independent forensic examination consistent with the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016).
Detailed case data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-139-2026
Location: Hitadipa, Intan Jaya Regency, Papua, Indonesia (-3.6054679, 136.8640458) Danggomba Village (coordinates: https://mapcarta.com/de/37156080)
Region: Indonesia > Central Papua > Intan Jaya > Hitadipa
Total number of victims: 3
1. Male adult Indigenous Peoples execution, right to life, unlawful killing
2. Male adult Indigenous Peoples execution, right to life, unlawful killing
3. Male adult Indigenous Peoples disappearance, right to life
Period of incident: 25/09/2026-25/09/2026
Perpetrators:
Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces
Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Military (TNI)
Issues: drones and cluster ammunition, indigenous peoples, security force violence