US pilot shot dead in Indonesia's Papua, plane set ablaze by separatist rebels
Separatist rebels in Papua said they shot dead American pilot Nicholas F. Gosselin and burned his aircraft after it landed in Yahukimo. They said the attack was meant as a warning to Indonesia and the United States over the long-running conflict.
An American pilot has been shot dead and his aircraft set ablaze in Indonesia's conflict-hit Papua region, according to separatist rebels, in an attack they described as a warning to both the Indonesian and US governments amid the decades-long insurgency in the resource-rich territory.
According to news agency Reuters, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), an armed separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters shot dead pilot Nicholas F. Gosselin after his aircraft landed in Yahukimo, a remote district in Highland Papua province.
The Indonesian government has confirmed that the aircraft was found burned at a local airport but has stopped short of confirming the pilot's death or attributing the incident to separatist fighters, saying investigations are continuing.
REBELS CALL ATTACK A 'MESSAGE'
TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom said the attack was intended to send a political message to both Jakarta and Washington. According to Sambom, the aircraft had repeatedly entered territory controlled by separatist fighters despite warnings issued by the group.
"We immediately fired upon and burned the plane because it had violated the TPNPB ultimatum," Sambom said.
He alleged that civilian aircraft had been used to transport Indonesian military personnel and logistics into areas claimed by the rebels.
The attack in Yahukimo, he said, was also "a message" to the Indonesian and US governments for "failing to address the root causes of the conflict in Papua between the Indonesian military and the West Papua National Liberation Army."
Sambom warned that more attacks could follow if civilian aircraft continued flying into what the rebels describe as restricted or "red zone" areas.
"We are prepared to fire upon any civilian aircraft across the Land of Papua that assists Indonesian military forces in transporting troops or military logistics," he said.
He also called on the Indonesian government to begin negotiations aimed at resolving the decades-old conflict and said authorities should recover the pilot's body without deploying military or police personnel to the area.
Videos released by the TPNPB showed armed fighters carrying rifles and axes while displaying the Morning Star flag, a symbol associated with the West Papuan independence movement.
INDONESIAN AUTHORITIES SEEK ANSWERS
Indonesian officials confirmed that a plane carrying an American pilot and seven Papuan passengers was discovered burned at an airport in Yahukimo. Yusuf Sutejo, spokesperson for Indonesia's joint police-military operations in Papua, said authorities had not yet established exactly what happened.
While confirming the aircraft had been destroyed, he said officials could not immediately verify whether separatist rebels were responsible or whether the American pilot had been killed. Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the aircraft had departed from Wamena and lost communications shortly after landing in Yahukimo.
The agency added that no security concerns had been reported before the aircraft touched down.
"The suspected cause of the incident is still awaiting further confirmation from the relevant authorities," the civil aviation authority said.
The aircraft belonged to PT AMA, an Indonesian airline that operates flights carrying food, fuel, mail and other essential supplies to remote communities across Papua. The company did not immediately comment on the incident.
Papua has remained the centre of an armed separatist movement since the territory was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, a move that independence supporters continue to dispute. The resource-rich region has witnessed decades of intermittent fighting between Indonesian security forces and separatist groups seeking independence. In recent years, rebels have acquired more sophisticated weapons, leading to increasingly deadly attacks.
Both sides have accused each other of endangering civilians, while rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about violence and displacement in the region.
NOT THE FIRST FOREIGN PILOT TARGETED
The latest attack also recalls one of the conflict's highest-profile hostage cases.
In February 2023, separatist fighters kidnapped New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens after he landed a small commercial aircraft in the mountainous Nduga region of Highland Papua.
Mehrtens was held captive for 19 months before being released in 2024 following lengthy negotiations involving Indonesian and New Zealand authorities.
An American pilot has been shot dead and his aircraft set ablaze in Indonesia's conflict-hit Papua region, according to separatist rebels, in an attack they described as a warning to both the Indonesian and US governments amid the decades-long insurgency in the resource-rich territory.
According to news agency Reuters, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), an armed separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters shot dead pilot Nicholas F. Gosselin after his aircraft landed in Yahukimo, a remote district in Highland Papua province.
The Indonesian government has confirmed that the aircraft was found burned at a local airport but has stopped short of confirming the pilot's death or attributing the incident to separatist fighters, saying investigations are continuing.
REBELS CALL ATTACK A 'MESSAGE'
TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom said the attack was intended to send a political message to both Jakarta and Washington. According to Sambom, the aircraft had repeatedly entered territory controlled by separatist fighters despite warnings issued by the group.
"We immediately fired upon and burned the plane because it had violated the TPNPB ultimatum," Sambom said.
He alleged that civilian aircraft had been used to transport Indonesian military personnel and logistics into areas claimed by the rebels.
The attack in Yahukimo, he said, was also "a message" to the Indonesian and US governments for "failing to address the root causes of the conflict in Papua between the Indonesian military and the West Papua National Liberation Army."
Sambom warned that more attacks could follow if civilian aircraft continued flying into what the rebels describe as restricted or "red zone" areas.
"We are prepared to fire upon any civilian aircraft across the Land of Papua that assists Indonesian military forces in transporting troops or military logistics," he said.
He also called on the Indonesian government to begin negotiations aimed at resolving the decades-old conflict and said authorities should recover the pilot's body without deploying military or police personnel to the area.
Videos released by the TPNPB showed armed fighters carrying rifles and axes while displaying the Morning Star flag, a symbol associated with the West Papuan independence movement.
INDONESIAN AUTHORITIES SEEK ANSWERS
Indonesian officials confirmed that a plane carrying an American pilot and seven Papuan passengers was discovered burned at an airport in Yahukimo. Yusuf Sutejo, spokesperson for Indonesia's joint police-military operations in Papua, said authorities had not yet established exactly what happened.
While confirming the aircraft had been destroyed, he said officials could not immediately verify whether separatist rebels were responsible or whether the American pilot had been killed. Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the aircraft had departed from Wamena and lost communications shortly after landing in Yahukimo.
The agency added that no security concerns had been reported before the aircraft touched down.
"The suspected cause of the incident is still awaiting further confirmation from the relevant authorities," the civil aviation authority said.
The aircraft belonged to PT AMA, an Indonesian airline that operates flights carrying food, fuel, mail and other essential supplies to remote communities across Papua. The company did not immediately comment on the incident.
Papua has remained the centre of an armed separatist movement since the territory was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, a move that independence supporters continue to dispute. The resource-rich region has witnessed decades of intermittent fighting between Indonesian security forces and separatist groups seeking independence. In recent years, rebels have acquired more sophisticated weapons, leading to increasingly deadly attacks.
Both sides have accused each other of endangering civilians, while rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about violence and displacement in the region.
NOT THE FIRST FOREIGN PILOT TARGETED
The latest attack also recalls one of the conflict's highest-profile hostage cases.
In February 2023, separatist fighters kidnapped New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens after he landed a small commercial aircraft in the mountainous Nduga region of Highland Papua.
Mehrtens was held captive for 19 months before being released in 2024 following lengthy negotiations involving Indonesian and New Zealand authorities.
