Police in West Papua in Indonesia were attacked by a mob as they attempted to break down barricades on Saturday (February 5) night.

Officers were called into action after a group of angry locals attempted to set fire to a building in Sorong CIty and barricaded roads.

As the police arrived on the scene, the mob shot fireworks at them and threw projectiles.

Officers responded with tear gas and fired warning shots.

According to reports, the crowds was furious after a local man was allegedly electrocuted earlier in the week.

The Indonesian Police, Resort Sorong Kota, which was backed up by the Mobile Brigade Forces Battalion B of the West Papua Police were forced to take decisive steps to disperse the road blockade action carried out by a group of masses on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Sorong City, West Papua, Saturday (5/2/2022) night.

Anarchist mobs tried to burn down a house belonging to a local resident. But the incident was quickly prevented by the police.

Not only burning people's houses and blocking highways. Dozens of these mobs also carried out brutal acts by attacking the police by throwing stones and wood and shooting fireworks at the police officers.

The police took action and immediately fired tear gas and fired warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

The police also sprayed water from a Watercanon car to extinguish used tires that were burned by the mob on the highway and disperse the crowd.

The police are also trying to give an appeal to the masses not to act anarchy and stop their disturbing actions

Sorong City Police Chief, Adjunct Senior Commissioner of Police, Ary Nyoto Setiawan said this incident was triggered by a resident in the area who died allegedly due to being hit by an electric current. The male resident was found dead on the morning of February 3, 2022.

The police have launched an investigation into the case. And has brought together the owner of the house with the victim's family. The body has been buried and the victim's family has accepted the incident.

However, on Saturday (5/2/2022) night, a group of thirty people who were relatives of the victims carried out a road blockade. The police, who received a report of a road blockade, immediately went to the scene to disperse the crowd. However, the mob acted brutally and attacked the police with stones, wood, firecrackers and other sharp weapons.

Police then acted decisively by firing tear gas and firing several warning shots to disperse the brutal crowd.

The situation was finally brought under control on Sunday (6/2/2022) early in the morning. Police are still on standby at the scene to prevent further action.

In this incident as many as two police officers were injured as a result of being hit by stones thrown by a brutal mob.

Police are still pursuing a number of people who are strongly suspected of being provocateurs in the incident.