Military to deploy troops to safeguard Freeport workers

At least 600 military troops would be deployed to help the police safeguard workers of copper and gold miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) who have been the target of shootings attacks in Papua province, Papua military commander Major General Ahmad Yani Nasution said Monday.

"Those army troops would commence their service on Sept. 2," Nasution was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.

He said that the troops? deployment plan was a response to the police's request.

According to Nasution, the troops will be tasked to secure the workers from being attacked by the shooters who he alleged came from the separatist group Papua Independence Movement (OPM).

He said that the separatist group is responsible for the frequent unrest and insecurity that occurred around the world's largest copper and gold mining. Freeport is a unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper& Gold Inc.

Spate of shootings to the buses and vehicles boarded by Freeport' s workers have killed a number of the firm's workers and police who safeguarded those workers in the last few months.(*)