Indonesian police say they have killed rebel leader Kelly Kwalik during a raid on a house in the province of Papua.

They say Mr Kwalik was shot after he threatened police with a firearm and that he died later in a hospital from his wounds. To be certain the body is indeed that of the rebel leader, tests will now be carried out its DNA.

Kelly Kwalik, who was 60 years old, was one of the heads of the Organisation for Free Papua (OPM). Since 1964, the OPM has been fighting for the independence of West Papua, formerly Dutch New Guinea.

The organisation is said to be responsible for violence against foreign workers employed by the United States company Freeport McMoran. The company works Papua province’s giant Grasberg mine, which sits on one of the world’s biggest gold and copper reserves.

The mine has long been linked to human rights abuses involving Indonesian troops who secure the facility. Many Papuans complain they have been dispossessed by the mine and denied income from the use of their lands.

Map of Papua province from Wikimedia Commons