Jakarta: A 60-year-old woman has been fatally shot by Indonesian paramilitary police in a clash between security forces and stone-throwing villagers in the troubled Papua region.

The police were transporting an 18-year-old man suspected of theft when villagers intervened to help him.

In a statement, they said police fired warning shots during the incident on Saturday. The woman, who was in the crowd, died from a gunshot to the head.

Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common in the impoverished region, which Indonesia annexed more than half a century ago.

AP