Separatist rebels take New Zealand pilot hostage in Papua

JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — Separatist rebels say they have set fire to a small plane carrying six people after it landed at a remote airport in Indonesia’s restive Papua province and taken its pilot, a New Zealand citizen, hostage. A rebel spokesperson says independence fighters from the West Papua Liberation Army stormed the plane shortly after it landed. He says the fighters set fire to the plane and seized its pilot as part of their struggle for independence. He says all five passengers, including a young child, were released because they are indigenous Papuans. Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common in the impoverished Papua region, a former Dutch colony that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia.