A group of Papuans hoisted the flag in the town of Timika at the weekend, local police chief Godhelp Mansembra told Reuters. No other details were available.

 

Separatist protests have increased in Papua in recent weeks. About 1,000 people marched through the capital, Jayapura, last week to demand a referendum on Papuan independence.

 

The march came days after a string of bomb blasts at an airport in Papua and near a copper mine run by the local unit of U.S. mining firm Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (Reporting by John Pakage; Editing by Sugita Katyal and Sanjeev Miglani)