No, this photo does not show Indonesian soldiers preparing to fight separatist rebels in Papua province

The misleading posts, such as here and here, have attracted thousands of reactions and shares since they were posted in early December.

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Snapshot of the misleading post.

The photo's caption translates as “Final preparations before fighting with the OPM Papua. It's going to be a big battle!”

OPM Papua refers to the Free Papua Movement, a rebel group in Indonesia’s easternmost region that has been fighting government forces for decades in a bid for independence.

An armed wing of the movement, the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB), claimed responsibility for a massacre of at least 16 construction workers in early December.

Here is an AFP report on the claim of responsibility.

A Google Reverse Image search found that the posted image was taken from this article published on July 31, 2016, on nu.or.id, the official website of Indonesia’s biggest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

The article is about a training programme for members of Banser, the group's paramilitary wing.

Below is a snapshot of the article.

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Snapshot of the NU Online article with the original photo.

The headline to the article translates in English to: “Head of Banser in East Java: Banser needs to keep training.”

The first paragraph of the article translates to:

“Head of Banser unit in East Java, dr H. Umar Usman, stresses that Banser, along with other forces of the state, has to ensure that the country is safe from any kind of threats. That is why Banser needs to equip itself with many skills and to train regularly.”