JakartaReuters —
Indonesia’s military has recovered the body of an American pilot who was shot dead by rebels in the restive eastern region of Papua, it said on Friday after a separatist group said the attack was a “message” to the US and Indonesian governments.
A low-level battle for independence from Indonesia has long raged in the resource-rich western half of Papua, where attacks by independence fighters have grown deadlier and more frequent as they have procured better weaponry.
Sebby Sambom, a spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), an armed separatist group, said on Thursday that their troops shot dead American pilot Nicholas F. Gosselin and set his plane on fire after it landed in the Yahukimo region of Highland Papua province.
He said the aircraft had been “frequently dropping Indonesian military personnel and violating the TPNPB’s ultimatum”, and said there would be more attacks if Indonesia kept allowing civilian aircraft to enter rebel-controlled red zones of Papua.
