Tensions escalated on Monday, April 28, 2025, when police forces fired tear gas at some 300 residents of Wayamli and Yawanli villages in East Halmahera who were marching to protest against mining activities by PT Sambaki Tambang Sentosa (STS) on their customary lands.

“The protesters gathered in Pekaulang village and proceeded to the PT STS representative office in Baburino, demanding the cessation of mining operations, the revocation of the company's business license, environmental restoration, and accountability for the destruction of their coconut plantations in Memeli Hamlet,” Julfikar Sangaji, North Maluku Coordinator of the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), said in a statement on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

As the protest was underway, dozens of officers from the East Halmahera Police and the police’s Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) came. At around 4 pm local time, Brimob officers fired tear gas canisters onto the crowd without prior warning.

Several protesters were injured. One of them, Mulyadi Palangi, was hit in the shoulder and upper arm, while Riski Boway was struck in the leg, and Sulandra Asri sustained injuries to her fingers.

The incident on Monday follows a prior incident on Saturday, April 26, 2025, when police reportedly forced residents to vacate their customary land after PT STS resumed nickel mining operations in the Qimalaha Wayamli forest. Thirteen villagers sent to monitor the activity were met with police coercion − some were even handcuffed and sent home.

Activists and local residents condemned the incidents as evidence of ongoing structural violence and accused the police of acting as enforcers for corporate interests. They also criticized the local elite's silence and inaction.