Rebels in Indonesia’s restive easternmost region of Papua on Thursday shot dead an American pilot, Nicholas F. Gosselin, and set a civilian plane on fire in what a spokesperson for a local separatist group described as a “message” to the U.S. and Indonesian governments.

Background

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 that their troops shot dead the American pilot 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.”

Yusuf Sutejo, spokesperson for Indonesia’s joint police-military operations in Papua, confirmed that a plane with an American pilot carrying seven passengers was found burned at a local airport in Yahukimo, but he could not confirm whether it had been attacked by rebels, or whether the pilot was killed. All the passengers were Papuans, he said.

International Response

The U.S. embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indonesia’s transportation ministry said on Thursday that the plane carried one pilot and seven passengers and had flown to Yahukimo from Wamena, another city in Highland Papua.

It said communications ceased after the plane landed.

The aircraft is owned by airline operator PT AMA, whose planes carry food, fuel and mail to remote villages in Papua, according to its website.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.