Papua separatists have killed helicopter pilot from New Zealand, say police
Incident in Indonesia’s easternmost region comes almost 18 months after kidnap of another New Zealand pilot
Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua killed a helicopter pilot from New Zealand, police have said, adding that four passengers onboard the aircraft were safe.
The pilot was killed immediately when rebels rounded up those travelling in the helicopter after it landed in an isolated area, police said.
The incident came almost 18 months after the abduction of another pilot from New Zealand, Phillip Mehrtens, who remains in captivity.
Police said the rebels responsible for Monday’s incident in Alama district of Central Papua province was the same group that was holding Mehrtens.
The rebel West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) said it had not received a report of the incident cited by police and could not immediately confirm the killing of the pilot on Monday.
A low-level battle for independence from Indonesia has raged in the resource-rich western half of Papua, where attacks by separatist fighters have grown deadlier and more frequent as they have procured better weaponry.
A spokesperson for the TPNPB had on Saturday said it had agreed to free Mehrtens, who was kidnapped on 7 February last year after he landed a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga.
The New Zealand government has repeatedly called for the pilot’s immediate release. The TPNPB has released videos of Mehrtens multiple times, seeking mediation in talks, including one with him surrounded by Papuan fighters.
New Zealand’s foreign ministry and its embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
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