Indonesian security and military personnel have been deployed to the country’s easternmost region since rebels from the West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) took New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens hostage after a routine flight to Papua’s Nduga regency some two months ago.

A string of attacks on aircraft has also occurred in the restive region since the Feb. 7 abduction, the latest involving a civilian airplane shot upon landing in Puncak regency, Central Papua, on Friday morning.

The high-stakes rescue operation, dubbed Peaceful Cartenz, took a turn for the worse over the weekend when a shootout broke out between the separatists and a squadron combing the dense and hilly jungle of Nduga’s Mugi-Mam area in search of the captured Susi Air pilot.

The TNI confirmed the death of first private Miftahul Arifin, who was shot after falling into a 15-meter ravine. Other soldiers attempting to evacuate him were reportedly pinned down by a flurry of rebel bullets. A spokesman for the TPNPB claimed responsibility for the attack and insisted more were killed.

Now the TNI says it has successfully located the hostage and that Yudo is in Papua to “evaluate” the operation as the military gathers troops to evacuate the squadron still trapped in the area.

“The position and condition of the personnel are now known. Some of the troops are already at the nearest position,” TNI spokesperson Rear Adm. Julius Widjojono told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Yudo was accompanied by Army chief of staff Gen. Dudung Abdurrachman and Army Strategic Reserves commander (Pangkostrad) Lt. Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak on the trip to Papua. With the location of the hostage now known, Julius said the TNI would intensify its efforts in spite of recent erratic weather conditions in the region.

Separately, Dudung said he would order his men to continue preparing troops as per the military commander’s instructions and that soldiers’ training would be evaluated following the recent loss of life.

The TPNPB, the military wing of a prominent separatist group, suggested it had killed nine soldiers in Saturday’s clash and noted Jakarta’s lack of response to negotiation requests. As of Monday night, the TNI had not announced any additional deaths.

Earlier on Sunday, Julius said the TNI would not be “swayed even an inch” from protecting the nation’s sovereignty.

The group, led by Egianus Kogoya, has demanded that Jakarta recognize Papuan independence in return for Mehrtens’ release, although it later told Reuters that it was willing to engage in dialogue instead.

Jakarta has so far been reluctant to negotiate with the TPNPB, having labeled them armed criminals and “terrorists”.

The group has also sought to use the ongoing hostage crisis to internationalize its independence cause.

Jakarta has been criticized for taking a tough security approach in the region, though officials claim the focus has recently shifted to a shared prosperity strategy.

In a Sunday statement after the shootout, TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom told the Post that the attack was a “retaliation” against the TNI’s “massive military operation”, which had resulted in the death of two TPNPB members in an attack on March 23.

Resource-rich Papua has been plagued by severe underdevelopment and exploitation, which has galvanized a separatist movement that has simmered in the background for decades.

Merthens’ abduction is the first since 1996 to involve a foreigner, and analysts have warned the state not to repeat the mistakes of the past, including one incident in which two Indonesian hostages lost their lives.