#tpnpb

[guerillas-of-history]

Fighters of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) posing with various weapons: Craft-made 5.56mm BM-59 pattern rifle, captured Pindad SS1-V1 assault rifle, AR-15 carbine, FN Hi-Power/Pindad P1 pistol, two revolvers, STANAG mags can be seen.

[kropotkindersurprise]

January 1, 2026 - West Papuan guerrillas with TPNPB lead in the New Year by burning a captured Indonesian flag. [video]

[twitterexile]

'The pilot also eats potatoes': Papuan separatists say kidnapped NZ pilot is living in jungle with independence fighters

Papuan separatists have told Crikey a New Zealand pilot was taken hostage as a representative of the Pacific Nations family.

Independence fighters from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) seized Susi Air’s small propeller plane when it landed at an airport in the mountainous district of Nduga last week. The separatists, from the armed wing of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM), set the plane on fire and captured the pilot, Philip Mehrtens, who was then spirited away to a hiding place somewhere in the dense jungle of the area. 

[guerillas-of-history]

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB)

[kropotkindersurprise]

August, 2025 - Guerrillas of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) took down Indonesian flags and burned them, calling for the burning of Indonesian flags across occupied West Papua. [video]

[guerillas-of-history]

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB)

[guerillas-of-history]

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB)

[guerillas-of-history]

Guerrilla fighters from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) ambushed Indonesian military forces. The TPNPB is the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, which seeks independence for West Papua from Indonesia.

The Papua conflict is a low-intensity guerrilla war that has lasted since the 1960s, rooted in Dutch colonial rule.

West Papua was formally colonized by the Netherlands in 1898. Dutch control in the region that makes up present-day Indonesia began as early as the 1600s through the Dutch East India Company.

After gaining independence, Indonesia took control of West Papua and began exploiting its natural resources on behalf of foreign corporations.

Estimates suggest that up to 500,000 people—mostly Indigenous Papuans—have been killed in the conflict. Despite spanning over 60 years, the war remains one of the least reported armed struggles in the world.