Rebels threaten to execute captured pilot Phillip Mehrtens (Image: West Papua Liberation Army)

Armed rebels in the Papua area of Indonesia have threatened to execute a new Zealand pilot they took hostage last week if the government attempts to rescue him.

Phillip Mehrtens was once abducted by means of the West Papuan Liberation Group when they stormed his small plane shortly after he landed on a far off runway while chartering a diplomatic flight.

the crowd seized Mr Mehrtens ahead of environment hearth to his plane on the runway in Paro in the faraway Nduga district on February 7.

Onboard have been 5 other Papuan nationals, together with the world’s neighborhood governor, who the crowd allow move.

The West Papua Liberation Crew are the armed wing of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), who demand independence from Indonesian rule.

The rebels have threatened to execute Mehrtens unless their demands are met (Picture: West Papuan Liberation Military)

Mehrtens, a former resident of Christchurch, is a husband and father who had been living in Indonesia after marrying a local woman, native media studies.

The pilot were working for Indonesian airline Susi Air for 5 years sooner than his seize, and reportedly spoke fluent Bahasa- the Indonesian language.

He was once scheduled to evacuate 15 building employees building a well being centre within the district before he used to be captured by the rebels at the runway.

‘Our plan to evacuate the employees angered the rebels, who spoke back through surroundings hearth to the plane and seizing the pilot,’ stated Nduga district leader Namia Gwijangge, who was once one in all the passengers.

Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered within the mineral-rich area, that is divided into the Papua and West Papua provinces.

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