(UCA News) A Protestant pastor has been shot dead in Indonesia’s restive Papua region, sparking a war of words between separatists and the military over who was responsible.
Reverend Yeremia Zanambani, 67, of the Gospel Tabernacle Church of Indonesia (GKII), was found dead outside his residence in the village of in Hitadipa in Intan Jaya district on Sept. 19.
The death of the pastor, who was a leader of the Moni indigenous group and ran a local high school, was confirmed by GKII church officials in Jakarta and came shortly after two soldiers were reportedly killed in a clash with insurgents in the area