Rebels holding New Zealand pilot hostage say they have killed at least 13 Indonesian soldiers

() — Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region say they have killed at least 13 Indonesian military soldiers after the army sent troops in search of captured New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who was taken hostage in February.

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) said its soldiers attacked two Indonesian military posts in Yal and Mugi districts in Nduga Regency over the weekend, according to a statement.

The document says rebels shot dead 13 Indonesian military and police officers in the Mugi district. The Indonesian army had evacuated one body, but the rebels were still in possession of 12 bodies, the statement added, without providing evidence.

In a televised news conference on Sunday, the Indonesian military said one of its soldiers had been killed while combing the area near where Mehrtens is believed to be being held.

Some soldiers were missing, the military confirmed, but the weather had made it difficult to determine their whereabouts.

“We know the location of the pilot, the operation has intensified, but the weather conditions in Papua are unpredictable,” military spokesman Julius Widjojono said.

Mehrtens was taken hostage in February after landing at a remote airport. (Credit: West Papua National Liberation Army)

Separately, the rebels said nine Indonesian soldiers were executed on Sunday after being captured in Yal district.

The rebels said the attack on the Yal military post was “retaliation” for an Indonesian military operation in the area in late March, when troops killed a pregnant woman and two rebel fighters.

A military spokesman in Papua, Herman Taryaman, denied that soldiers carried out the March attack and said security forces were protecting civilians who were driven off by rebels, Reuters reported.

The rebel group said it had proposed peace talks with the New Zealand and Indonesian governments, but for two months its letters were ignored.

They said New Zealand and the UN had an “obligation to urge the Indonesian government to halt military operations” and said peace talks could take place under a “neutral third party, namely the UN organizing body.” .

Mehrtens was captured in February after landing a Susi Air commercial charter flight at remote Paro airport in Nduga regency.

West Papuan separatist fighters released images of the New Zealand pilot’s plane on fire. (Credit: West Papua National Liberation Army)

The Indonesian military maintains a strong and controversial presence in Papua, which came under Jakarta’s control after a widely disputed 1969 vote overseen by the United Nations. Unrest in the impoverished but resource-rich region has intensified in recent years as separatist fighters demand independence.

The TPNPB, designated by the Indonesian government as a terrorist group, originally said Mehrtens would not be released until Jakarta recognized Papua’s independence and withdrew its troops from the region.

However, they later dropped that demand as a condition of the pilot’s release and now want to talk to the New Zealand and Indonesian governments to secure his release, according to TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom.