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FREEPORT - JAKARTA, March 11 - An employee of gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia was shot dead on Wednesday in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua, authorities said. Here are some details about the incident:
The employee was shot in Freeport's Grasberg mine area in the region of Mimika, Central Papua province, said Jeremias Rontini, the head of the local police.
"The victim, a male, died from a gunshot wound to the left ear," he told Reuters.
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The victim was in a pick-up truck and inspecting one of the company's operations area when he was shot, Rontini said.
Authorities are still investigating the perpetrator, he said when asked whether Papuan rebels were involved in the attack.
Freeport company spokesperson Katri Krisnati confirmed that its employee had been shot and expressed condolences to the victim's family.
"The company's operations are running normally following the shooting incident in the Grasberg area," she said.
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Last month, a Free Papua Movement rebel group attacked a Freeport Indonesia convoy in Papua, killing a soldier and injuring a Freeport employee.
A low-level but increasingly deadly conflict between security forces and separatists has simmered in resource-rich Papua since it was brought under Indonesian control in a 1969 vote overseen by the United Nations.
