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Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s Papua area have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage after setting a small business aircraft alight when it landed in a distant highland space, a pro-independence group says.
A police spokesman in Papua province, Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, mentioned authorities have been investigating the incident, with police and army personnel despatched to the world to find the pilot and 5 passengers.
“We can not ship many personnel there as a result of Nduga is a troublesome space to achieve. We will solely go there by aircraft,” he mentioned on Tuesday.
A army spokesperson in Papua, Herman Taryaman, mentioned the pilot had been recognized as Captain Philip Merthens and it was unclear if the 5 accompanying passengers had additionally been kidnapped.
The aircraft operated by Susi Air landed safely early on Tuesday morning, earlier than being attacked by insurgent fighters, authorities mentioned.
The West Papua Nationwide Liberation Military (TPNPB) claimed duty for the assault in a press release seen by Reuters, saying the pilot wouldn’t be launched till the Indonesian authorities acknowledged the independence of West Papua – which refers back to the western facet of New Guinea island.
The TPNPB made no point out of the passengers, however mentioned this was the second time the group had taken a hostage.
The primary incident was in 1996.
The NZ embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian Overseas Ministry didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark
Indonesia’s easternmost provinces have been wracked with a low-level battle for independence for the reason that resource-rich area was controversially introduced below Indonesian management in a vote overseen by the United Nations in 1969.
The battle has escalated considerably since 2018, with pro-independence fighters mounting deadlier and extra frequent assaults.
The elevated depth of those assaults have been enabled by an improved capacity to acquire extra weapons, together with by raiding and stealing from military posts, cross-border purchases and the unlawful sale of government-issued weapons, the Institute for Coverage Evaluation of Battle mentioned in a report final yr.
Susi Air founder and former fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti mentioned on Twitter that she was praying for the protection of the pilot and passengers.
– Reuters
