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Reuters

Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s Papua region have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage after setting a small commercial plane alight when it landed in a remote highland area on Tuesday, a pro-independence group said in a statement.
A police spokesperson in Papua province, Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, said authorities were investigating the incident, with police and military personnel sent to the area to locate the pilot and five passengers.
“We cannot send many personnel there because Nduga is a difficult area to reach. We can only go there by plane,” he said.
A military spokesperson in Papua, Herman Taryaman, said the pilot had been identified as Captain Philip Merthens and it was unclear if the five accompanying passengers had also been abducted.
For Indonesia’s restive Papua region, will Biden bring change?
The plane operated by Susi Air landed safely early on Tuesday morning, before being attacked by rebel fighters, authorities said.
The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement seen by Reuters, saying the pilot would not be released until the Indonesian government acknowledged the independence of West Papua – which refers to the western side of New Guinea island.
The TPNPB made no mention of the passengers, but said this was the second time the group had taken a hostage. The first incident was in 1996.
The New Zealand embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Indonesia’s easternmost provinces have been wracked with a low-level battle for independence since the resource-rich region was controversially brought under Indonesian control in a vote overseen by the United Nations in 1969.
The conflict has escalated significantly since 2018, with pro-independence fighters mounting deadlier and more frequent attacks.
The increased intensity of these attacks have been enabled by an improved ability to obtain more weapons, including by raiding and stealing from army posts, cross-border purchases and the illegal sale of government-issued weapons, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict said in a report last year.
Susi Air founder and former fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said on Twitter she was praying for the safety of the pilot and passengers.


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Indonesia

Papuan rebels in Indonesia set plane on fire, take New Zealand pilot hostage

Indonesia has sent police and military personnel to Papua province to locate the pilot and five passengers. File photo: AFP

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Indonesian soldiers are deployed to the Papua region after violent protests broke out in 2019. Photo: Reuters

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Indonesia’s Papua region. Graphic: SCMP

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks to the media about the deaths of construction workers after a shooting in the country's easternmost province of Papua, at the palace in Jakarta, Indonesia December 5, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Wahyu Putro A/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

epa07780089 A local parliament building burns during a protest in Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia, 19 August 2019. According to media reports, protesters set fire to the local parliament building and cars during a protest against the detention of Papuan students in Surabaya for damaging a national flag pole outside of a dormitory. EPA-EFE/STRINGER BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

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People display banners that read "Stop intimidation and racism towards indigenous Papuans" during a protest in Manokwari, Papua province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. The protest was sparked by accusations that Indonesian police who backed by the military, have arrested and insulted dozens of Papuan students in their dormitory in East Java's cities of Surabaya and Malang a day earlier. (AP Photo/Safwan Ashari Raharusun)

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epa07774278 An aerial view of the of the narrowest part of the island is seen north of Funafuti, Tuvalu, 15 August 2019. The 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Related Meetings, fostering cooperation between governments comprising 18 countries in the region, run from 13 to 16 August 2019 in Tuvalu. EPA-EFE/MICK TSIKAS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

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Separatist fighters attacked the Susi Air plane and abducted Captain Philip Merthens and five passengers after it landed in Nduga
Police and military personnel dispatched to the area to rescue the captives


Separatist fighters attacked the Susi Air plane and abducted Captain Philip Merthens and five passengers after it landed in Nduga.


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