Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua killed a helicopter pilot from New Zealand on Monday after he landed his aircraft in a remote area. Authorities reported that the four other passengers on board were safe.
The pilot was killed on the spot after the rebels gathered everyone on board following the helicopter’s landing in a field in the Alama district of Central Papua province, as reported by Bayu Suseno, a spokesperson for the joint Indonesian police-military operations in Papua, based on a witness account.
The motive for the killing is unclear. This incident comes nearly 18 months after another New Zealand pilot, Phillip Mehrtens, was abducted by separatists and remains in captivity.
A spokesperson for New Zealand’s foreign ministry said they were aware of the report and that the embassy in Jakarta was seeking information from authorities, but declined to comment further.
The rebel group, West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), said it had not received a report of the incident and could not immediately confirm the killing of the pilot.
There has been a long-standing low-level battle for independence in the resource-rich western half of Papua. Attacks by independence fighters have become deadlier and more frequent as they acquire better weapons.
Spokesperson Bayu stated that the group responsible for Monday’s incident is the same one currently holding Mehrtens.
The New Zealand government has consistently urged the immediate release of Mehrtens, who was abducted on February 7 last year after landing a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga
