INDONESIA RECOVERS BODY OF AMERICAN PILOT – Nicholas F. Gosselin was killed by rebels in Papua, Indonesian military says
The Indonesian military recovered the body of Nicholas F. Gosselin, an American pilot, on Friday (July 3) after separatist rebels in West Papua shot him dead and burnt his plane.
“The body will be taken to Jakarta, and will be handed over…to the US government and the family in Jakarta,” said Lucky Avianto, military chief of Timika.
A spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) described the attack as a message to the Indonesian and U.S. government for “failing to address the root causes of the conflict in Papua between the Indonesian military and the West Papua National Liberation Army.”
Seven Papuan passengers on board were rescued by local residents, the military said. The U.S. embassy in Jakarta did not respond to a request for comment.
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. PT AMA did not respond to a request for comment.
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.
