Witnesses and media reports say security forces have stormed a political rally against Indonesian rule in Papua province.

The Jakarta Globe newspaper quoted police Wednesday in eastern Papua confirming dozens of injured, and the paper said journalists were among those beaten by police with batons and canes. The paper carried a photograph of detainees with raised hands surrounded by security personnel.

The French news agency quotes witnesses as saying hundreds of paramilitary police and government troops surrounded some 5,000 demonstrators — mostly members of the region's indigenous Melanesian majority.

The region was the scene of similar protests in August, following political violence that killed at least 21 people. Media reports at the time attributed that fighting to a decision by a local elections office to reject the registration of a candidate running for district chief.

Papua — located on the western half of the island of New Guinea — has been the scene of a low-level separatist insurgency for decades.