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Papuan rebels have released telecom worker hostages, police say
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Indonesian Military (TNI) and police personnel surround a helicopter in Kenyam district in the Papuan regency of Nduga on Feb. 2. The chopper was used to evacuate 15 people who had been held hostage by a separatist armed group. (Courtesy of /Cenderawasih Military Command)
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group of telecommunications workers taken hostage by an armed rebel group in the Papuan Highlands has been released, the local police have said, in the latest kidnapping crisis in the restive region.
Reports emerged on Friday that four workers from PT Infrastruktur Bisnis Sejahtera (IBS) who had flown to the province’s Okbab district to inspect the construction of a base transceiver station (BTS), were taken hostage by armed men thought to be members of a Papuan rebel group.
Five armed men reportedly approached the group immediately after they landed in Okbab. A physical altercation ensued in which some members suffered injuries. The armed group reportedly demanded Rp 500 million (US$33,600) in ransom for the workers’ release.
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Mathius D. Fakhiri claimed on Saturday that authorities had managed to resolve the issue by Saturday night and that only two workers were ultimately taken hostage, both of whom had been released.
“There were a total of four people [in the group], three were [workers from PT IBS] who were harmed [by the rebel group], while the other was a local who was allowed to escape unscathed. One [worker] who was harmed managed to flee, while the remaining two were taken hostage,” he said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
“Thanks to the efforts of local leaders and religious figures, the two hostages were [freed] and have been taken to the local community health center [Puskesmas] to receive treatment. That was the report we received from the Pegunungan Bintang deputy regent and its police chief,” he said.
Matthias added that the authorities did not know who the kidnappers were and that residents of the district claimed not to recognize them.
