Moment rebel wearing Union Jack headband points gun at head of captive pilot

A new chilling image of a pilot taken hostage by a group of separatist rebels has been shared.

Members of the West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) captured Philip Mark Mehrtens, a 37-year-old New Zealander, on February 7.

For the past 10 months, Mr Mehrtens has been held by the group based in the Indonesian region of Papua.

Now, in a new video, the rebels announced the pilot will be executed if their demands are not met within two months.

A striking image from the clip shows dozens of armed rebels surrounding the pilot, who sits down on the grass with his hands crossed in front of him.

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One of the fighters standing close to the camera can be seen wearing a Union Jack headband as he makes his demands and points his automatic rifle at Mr Mehrtens’ head.

Information regarding when and where the video was filmed has not been released.

The TPNPB has in the past called for Papua to break away from Indonesia.

This insurgent group, the armed wing of the Free Papua Organisation, has been designated as a terrorist organisation by Indonesia.

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New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry is aware of the video and its government said efforts to secure the release of the hostage are ongoing.

In mid-April, the Indonesian military had narrowed down the location of the pilot, but fighters were attacked by the TPNPB militants, who killed six of them and forced 21 more to flee.

At the time, it was reported one soldier fell into a deep ravine and died, while others had come under attack trying to rescue him.

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Mr Mehrtens was captured in Paro, part of the Nduga district, after the militants stormed a single-engine Indonesian Susi Airlines plane shortly after it landed on a small runway.

The pilot had been tasked with evacuating 15 construction workers building a health centre in the area after they had been threatened by the separatists.

The militants have been threatening to kill the pilot in previous videos and statements too, including days after he had been captured.

At the time, separatists’ spokesperson Sebby Sambom wrote on Facebook that if Jakarta refused to negotiate or intervened militarily then the pilot “will be executed”.

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