Papua rebels kill an American pilot and burn his plane

Separatist fighters in Papua, in the far east of Indonesia, have shot dead an American pilot and set his small civilian plane on fire. A spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), Sebby Sambom, named the pilot as Nicholas F Gosselin and said the group burned the plane after it landed in the Yahukimo region of Highland Papua. He called the attack a "message" to the United States and Indonesian governments, which he said had failed to fix the real causes of the conflict. As the Guardian reports, the rebels also warned they would attack again if Indonesia keeps letting civilian planes enter areas they control.

Indonesian officials gave a more careful account. Yusuf Sutejo, a spokesperson for the joint police and military operation in Papua, confirmed that a plane carrying an American pilot and seven passengers was found burned at the Yahukimo airport, but he could not yet confirm that rebels attacked it or that the pilot was killed. All seven passengers were Papuans. The plane belongs to a small airline, PT AMA, that flies food, fuel, and mail to remote mountain villages, so these flights are a lifeline in a region with few roads. The US embassy in Jakarta did not comment.

The killing fits a long and painful history. Papua has faced a low-level war for independence for about 50 years, ever since a 1969 vote called the "Act of Free Choice," in which only 1,026 hand-picked people were allowed to vote to stay with Indonesia. International observers have long called that vote unfair and forced. Rights groups say more than half a million Papuans have died over the decades, a claim Indonesia rejects, and Jakarta denies accusations of abuse. Attacks by the rebels have grown deadlier as they get better weapons. In 2023 the same movement kidnapped a New Zealand pilot and held him for 19 months.

Why it matters

For anyone who flies in or works in Papua, this is a direct safety warning: the rebels have said plainly they will target civilian aircraft in the areas they hold. It also raises pressure on President Prabowo's government to show it can protect people and calm a conflict that is now killing foreigners and drawing global attention. For the wider public, it is a reminder that the Papua conflict, often kept out of the national conversation, remains violent and unresolved.