Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua kill New Zealand pilot in second plane attack
Al Jazeera
Glen Malcolm Conning was shot dead after he landed his helicopter in a remote village, 19 months after another pilot was taken captive.
Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s far eastern region of Papua have shot dead a helicopter pilot from New Zealand, according to police.
The rebels attacked the helicopter as soon as it landed on Monday in Alama, a remote village in the Mimika district of Central Papua province, said Faizal Ramadhani, who heads the joint security peace force in Papua.
The attackers released the four Indigenous Papuan passengers who were on board the aircraft, operated by private aviation company Intan Angkasa Air Service.
“It is confirmed that there was a hostage situation and murder carried out by the armed criminal group,” Ramadhani said, naming the pilot as 50-year-old Glen Malcolm Conning.
The motive for the killing was not immediately clear. It comes nearly 18 months after the abduction by separatists of another pilot from New Zealand, Phillip Mehrtens, who remains a captive.
