Wed. Oct 30th, 2024
Armed rebels threaten to execute hostage pilot if army tries to rescue him
Rebels threaten to execute pilot

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.

in this undated picture launched by way of West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, Papuan separatist rebels pose for a photo with a man they stated is New Zealander pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens who they took hostage final week, at an undisclosed area in Papua province, Indonesia.</body></html>” /></div>
<p>(West Papua Liberation Military by way of AP)”/>Phillip Mehrtens was once taken hostage by way of the West Papuan Liberation Military after they stormed his plane (Picture: West Papua Liberation Military) </p>
<p>In Advance this week the crowd released pictures and video footage of Mehrtens surrounded through rebels wielding weapons, spears and bows.</p>
<p>The seperatists’ spokesman Sebby Sambom posted an additional update on the group’s Fb web page the day past, by which he mentioned ‘the pilot is still alive and will be held hostage for negotiations with Jakarta.’</p>
<p>Sambon warned officials in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, that if they refused to negotiate with the Free Papua Group workforce, then the ‘pilot will be finished to useless’.</p>
<p>the crowd stated the they would ‘never release’ Mr Mehrtens except Jakarta made the Papua area unbiased from Indonesian colonialism.</p>
<p>but the Jakartan government has stood company, pronouncing Papua will ‘perpetually remain a sound phase’ of Indonesia.</p>
<p>On Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said The Brand New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta would lead the diplomatic reaction. </p>
<p>Consular reinforce had been supplied to the Mehrtens family but the Executive would be preserving public comments ‘to a minimum’, Hipkins mentioned.</p>
<p>Closing week, <strong>The Jakarta Put Up</strong> pronounced that a group has been deployed through the National Police and the Indonesian Army for a seek and rescue operation, codenamed Peaceful Carstensz.</p>
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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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