Papuans armed with bows and arrows take hostage a pilot from New Zealand (photo, video)

Insurgents in Indonesia raided the single-engine plane of New Zealand pilot Philip Mertens after landing in the Indonesian Papua Highlands province. Reported by The Mirror.

A week ago, separatists from the West Papua National Liberation Army, the paramilitary wing of the Papua Liberation Organization (OPM), which advocates secession from Indonesia, released a chilling video of a hostage.

They set the plane on fire and freed the five local passengers, but detained the 37-year-old pilot, despite promising to treat him humanely.

The rebels forced the pilot to explain their demands over a long-standing territorial dispute over control of the territory seized by Indonesia in the 60s.

The rebels promised to free the New Zealander if Papua became independent.

In another video, the pilot explains in Indonesian: “The Papuan army captured me to achieve independence.”

A separatist spokesman said the New Zealand hostage was being held in the group’s stronghold in a remote area and would be used as “lever” in negotiations.

A day later, the rebels took 15 construction workers hostage, but Indonesian security forces managed to free them.

Papua, a former Dutch colony that declared its independence in 1961, but two years later Indonesia took over the area.

Since 2018, clashes between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian officials have become more frequent.

Recall that the Yemeni rebels launched a missile attack on Abu Dhabi. After four explosions in the city, the rest of the missiles were intercepted by the air defense.

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