A violent confrontation erupted in Indonesia’s restive Papua area on Monday, as gunmen stormed a helicopter, killing its New Zealand pilot shortly after touchdown. The attackers, suspected to be from the West Papua Liberation Military, launched the Indigenous Papuan passengers — a stark distinction to the destiny of the pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, whose life was brutally lower quick within the distant village of Alama.
Conning, employed by the Indonesian aviation firm PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, had simply touched down within the mountainous district of Mimika, Central Papua province, when the ambush occurred, accoring to AP. The assailants, who reportedly belong to the armed wing of the Free Papua Motion, wasted no time in setting fireplace to the helicopter after executing the pilot. The passengers, two well being employees and two kids, have been spared, seemingly resulting from their native ties, police stated.
Faizal Ramadhani, a member of Indonesia’s Nationwide Police and the pinnacle of the joint safety peace drive in Papua, confirmed the pilot’s demise and the attackers’ swift retreat into the dense jungle. “All passengers have been secure as a result of they have been native residents of Alama village,” Ramadhani stated as quoted by AP. He additionally stated that the village’s remoted nature, accessible solely by air.
The West Papua Liberation Military, by means of spokesperson Sebby Sambom, neither confirmed nor denied duty for the assault. Sambom issued a chilling warning to overseas pilots, saying, “if that occurs, it was his personal fault for coming into our forbidden territory…if anybody disobeys, they have to bear the chance themselves.”
The incident has forged a shadow over the already tense relations between Indigenous Papuans and Indonesian authorities. The area, wealthy in minerals however fraught with battle, has lengthy been a flashpoint for violence. This assault is the most recent in a sequence of lethal encounters, together with the continuing abduction of New Zealand pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens by the identical insurgent group since February 2023.
New Zealand’s overseas ministry expressed concern over the incident, with the embassy in Jakarta in search of additional particulars. The state of affairs stays unstable, as safety forces scramble to find the attackers whereas the worldwide neighborhood watches intently.
The violence in Papua has deep roots, tracing again to its controversial incorporation into Indonesia in 1969 after a UN-sponsored poll, extensively criticized as a sham. Since then, the area has simmered with insurgency, fueled by the stark cultural and ethnic variations between the Indigenous Papuans and the remainder of Indonesia.
Conning, employed by the Indonesian aviation firm PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, had simply touched down within the mountainous district of Mimika, Central Papua province, when the ambush occurred, accoring to AP. The assailants, who reportedly belong to the armed wing of the Free Papua Motion, wasted no time in setting fireplace to the helicopter after executing the pilot. The passengers, two well being employees and two kids, have been spared, seemingly resulting from their native ties, police stated.
Faizal Ramadhani, a member of Indonesia’s Nationwide Police and the pinnacle of the joint safety peace drive in Papua, confirmed the pilot’s demise and the attackers’ swift retreat into the dense jungle. “All passengers have been secure as a result of they have been native residents of Alama village,” Ramadhani stated as quoted by AP. He additionally stated that the village’s remoted nature, accessible solely by air.
The West Papua Liberation Military, by means of spokesperson Sebby Sambom, neither confirmed nor denied duty for the assault. Sambom issued a chilling warning to overseas pilots, saying, “if that occurs, it was his personal fault for coming into our forbidden territory…if anybody disobeys, they have to bear the chance themselves.”
The incident has forged a shadow over the already tense relations between Indigenous Papuans and Indonesian authorities. The area, wealthy in minerals however fraught with battle, has lengthy been a flashpoint for violence. This assault is the most recent in a sequence of lethal encounters, together with the continuing abduction of New Zealand pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens by the identical insurgent group since February 2023.
New Zealand’s overseas ministry expressed concern over the incident, with the embassy in Jakarta in search of additional particulars. The state of affairs stays unstable, as safety forces scramble to find the attackers whereas the worldwide neighborhood watches intently.
The violence in Papua has deep roots, tracing again to its controversial incorporation into Indonesia in 1969 after a UN-sponsored poll, extensively criticized as a sham. Since then, the area has simmered with insurgency, fueled by the stark cultural and ethnic variations between the Indigenous Papuans and the remainder of Indonesia.
