| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Southeast Asia | |
| American pilot working in Indonesia KILLED by armed separatist group looking to send a 'message' after he landed in small mountain village | |
| 2026-07-05 | |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] An armed separatist group in Indonesia shot and killed an American pilot on Thursday and burned down his plane. Nicholas F. Goselin, a pilot for Indonesian aviation company PT AMA, was killed shortly after he landed at the Ipdeheik airstrip in Balinggama village of the Yahukimo regency in the mountainous province of Papua Highlands. The West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement,
A decades-old insurgency in impoverished Papua between Indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces has spiked in the past year, with dozens of rebels, security forces and civilians killed. The rebels have especially targeted foreign pilots. They rebels claimed pilots have been ferrying Indonesian troops into the area, and asserted that Goselin's death sent 'a message.' The following day, Wirya Artadiguna, a military spokesperson in Papua, confirmed the separatist group had carried out the attack and said the body of the American pilot had been recovered and evacuated. Indonesia's civil aviation authority has said there were no security concerns raised when Goselin first brought the plane in to land, but soon contact was lost with the airstrip. The passengers, all of whom were locals, were unharmed in the attack, authorities said. The military is seeking the perpetrators, he said, adding that all passengers on the flight are safe and have returned home. In a statement, rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom said the aircraft violated their ban on civilian flights in areas the separatist group considers its operational zones. He said the American pilot was killed because the aircraft continued operating despite the group´s warning. The claims could not be independently verified. Sambom then called on Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to open international negotiations aimed at resolving the decades-long conflict in Papua, which separatists say has resulted in civilian deaths and mass displacement. 'The shooting of the American pilot is the result of the failure of the Indonesian, U.S. and Dutch governments, as well as the United Nations, to address the root causes of the conflict in Papua, which has persisted for 64 years,' he said in a statement. He also urged the United Nations to facilitate talks involving the Indonesian government, the TPNPB and Papuan representatives, and warned that the group would target other civilian aircraft it believes are assisting military operations in the region. '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,' Sambom said. | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |