At least six Indonesian soldiers have been reportedly killed during a mission to rescue New Zealand pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens, who was abducted by armed separatist group West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in February.
Army reports said 36 troops were stationed at a post in the district of Nduga when gunmen from the TPNPB opened fire on Saturday, AP reported.
Military reports seen by AP state that six people died while another 21 are missing after they fled into the jungle.
An Indonesian military spokesman has only confirmed one death.
The soldier was shot and fell into a deep ravine and while fellow troops were getting his body out, the government troops were ambushed a second time, said First Admiral Julius Widjojono, spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces.
“As of 2:03 p.m. local time, the information we have is one died,” he said at a press conference on Sunday.
“The task force was trying to get closer to the position of the kidnappers, but they were attacked.”
Papua military spokesman, Colonel Herman Taryaman, said they were trying to locate about 30 soldiers.
“It’s still unknown exactly how many Indonesian army troops died and were injured,” he said. “We are still searching, but heavy rain, foggy weather and a lack of communication have hampered our search and evacuation efforts.”
Meanwhile, Sebby Sambom, spokesman for the TPNPB, said they had fatally shot at least nine soldiers of the Indonesian army.
TPNPB, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, was classified as a terrorist group by the Indonesian government in 2021.
Sambom told AP that the attack had been made in revenge for killing two rebels in a shootout with Indonesian security forces in March.
He added that his group had offered to negotiate with both the Indonesian and New Zealand government over the pilot they took hostage but that they had not received any response.
The attacks would continue if Indonesia does not hold peace talks with the separatist group, with the United Nations as a third-party mediator.
Abduction of Captain Mehrtens
Mehrtens was taken hostage in February after his plane was stormed and burned at an airstrip in Paro airport, Nduga, soon after landing.Video footage and images released and distributed by the separatist rebels in March showed Mehrtens was still alive.
It showed the pilot under instructions to read a propaganda statement that said foreign pilots would not be allowed to work or fly in Papua until it becomes an independent state.
Along with the footage, the group’s leader demanded that New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the U.S., France, China, and Russia to stop supporting the Indonesian military.
Clashes between the indigenous Papuans and Indonesian authorities, often resulting in fatalities, have escalated in recent years.
Papua, previously colonised by the Dutch, was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 under a vote supervised by the United Nations.
The Free Papua Movement has rejected the ballot vote result, claiming it to be rigged.
Civilians often fall victim to the armed conflict between the two sides, with the United Nations estimating that since December 2018, between 60,000 and 100,000 people have been displaced due to violence.
The U.N. has raised concerns with the Indonesian government of allegations of security forces carrying out extrajudicial killings, inhuman treatment, and human rights abuses towards the native Papuans.
Meanwhile, the TPNPB has executed civilians who they claim were Indonesian military dressed in plain clothing. The targeting of civilians, primarily workers in government projects and non-Papuan citizens and migrants, has increased since 2020.
