A New Zealand helicopter pilot was killed by separatist rebels in Indonesia’s eastern province of Papua today after his plane landed in a remote area, authorities said, adding that four other passengers on board had protection.
The pilot was killed as soon as the insurgents rounded up the people on board when the helicopter landed in a field in Alama district in the Central Papua region, a spokesman for the Indonesian police and military in Papua said. The reason why he was killed immediately has not been determined.
It comes almost 18 months after the separatist kidnapping of another New Zealand pilot, Phillip Mehrtens, remains at large. A spokesman for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the report and its embassy in Jakarta was seeking information from the authorities, declining to comment further.
The rebel West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) said they had not received a report on the incident cited by the police and could not immediately confirm the killing of the pilot today. A fierce battle for independence from Indonesia has long raged in the wealthy western region of Papua, where attacks by independence fighters have been deadly and often fueled by access to weapons. better.
Bayu’s spokesperson said that the group responsible for what happened today is the group that is currently holding Mehrtens. The New Zealand government has repeatedly called for the immediate release of pilot Mehrtens, who was abducted on February 7 after landing on a small commercial plane in the Nduga mountain region.
The rebels have released a video of Mehrtens seeking an international apology and talks between the rebels and Indonesian authorities, which showed him surrounded by Papuan soldiers. TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom said on Saturday that the group had agreed to release Mehrtens, but Indonesian defense spokesman Bayu today expressed doubts about this, calling it just propaganda.
Sebby did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
