Up to 100 people, arrested by Papua New Guinea police for allegedly illegally crossing the border from Indonesia, have been flown from Vanimo in Sandaun Province to Western Province.
The multi departmental Operation Sunset Merona has swept through seven suspected camps for the Papuan militant group, the OPM, on the PNG side of the border, over the past 3 weeks.
The Post Courier newspaper reports that a total of 170 people, including women and children, have been arrested in the operation.
Of these up to 100 have now been flown to a refugee camp at East Awin in Western Province, with the others to follow.
The police are reported to have confirmed that only those whose immigration or residency papers were not in order or who had no papers at all were moved.
37 people were found to have their papers in order.
