More violence near Indonesia mine

Security is tight at the US-owned gold and copper mine in Papua

Indonesian police have been involved in a gun battle near a gold mine in Papua province, which has been the scene of several recent attacks.

Two officers are reported to have been shot near the US-owned Freeport mine, one of them critically.

It is the fifth armed ambush in the area in as many days. At least three people have been killed so far.

The rebel Free Papua movement has denied any involvement, and police said the bullets used were military-issue.

Ambushed

A 29-year-old Australian, an Indonesian security guard and a policeman died in ambushes over the weekend near the largely American-owned Freeport complex.

Like the other incidents, Wednesday's ambush happened along a road between the town of Timika and the huge gold and copper mine, which employs 20,000 people.

Freeport has now ordered its staff to stay off the road, preventing hundreds of workers from returning to the mine.

Initially the rebel Free Papua Movement was blamed for the attacks.

But they have denied involvement, and police said that high-powered weapons sometimes issued to the military or security personnel were used.

Analysts have noted that Freeport is a lucrative posting for Indonesian security forces - they are paid by the mining company and also earn large amounts of money by charging money to local illegal miners.