Separatists kidnapped a New Zealand pilot in Papua in February 2023.
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens was released on Saturday after being held hostage by an armed separatist group for 19 months in the remote Nduga region of Indonesia’s Papua province.
A group of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) kidnapped Mehrtens and his five passengers when Mehrtens had landed by plane at Paro Airport in Nduga.
The Indonesian passengers were released shortly after being captured. However, Mehrtens was held hostage.
TPNPB used Mehrtens as a bargaining chip when demanding independence for its territory from Indonesia. Indonesian forces and separatists have long clashed in the region.
The negotiations to release Mehrtens continued for a long time. Indonesian forces tried to free him by storming in April 2023. Six Indonesian soldiers were killed in the ensuing firefight and the hostage could not be freed.
However, Mehrtens was finally released on Saturday and was taken into custody by Indonesian authorities. Mehrtens’ condition was satisfactory, and he contacted his family by phone.
Foreign Minister of New Zealand Winston Peters said the happy end to the hostage crisis was a “tremendous relief” for the Mehrtens family.
In August, separatists shot a New Zealand helicopter pilot after he landed in the village of Alama in Central Papua province.
Source: Reuters, AP