Jakarta - About 100 soldiers mutinied against their battalion commander and fired shots into the air Wednesday in Indonesia's rebellious Papua province, Metro TV reported. The soldiers stormed the commander's office in Sentani, near the provincial capital Jayapura, and stole rifles from an armory in their headquarters, the television channel said.

No one was injured in the mutiny and the situation had been brought under control, said a spokesman for the regional military command, Lieutenant Colonel Susilo.

"It's an issue of leadership. The commander will be questioned," Susilo, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name, told Metro TV.

Susilo said the troops were dissatisfied with the commander's decision over the cost of returning the body of a dead soldier.

An Indonesian battalion consists of about 600 soldiers.

Papua, home to a low-level separatist insurgency, has seen a surge in violence this year.

Papua was a Dutch colony and remained one after 1949 when Indonesia gained independence. In 1961, Indonesia invaded Papua, sparking a brief war with the Netherlands.

The United Nations intervened, and ceded Papua to Indonesia in 1962. It formally became part of Indonesia seven years later, after a referendum that Jakarta was accused of manipulating.(dpa)