A professor being held hostage with three others by an armed criminal group in Papua New Guinea (PNG) will be rescued by “whatever means necessary”, according to the country’s police commissioner.
The foreign national, who is a New Zealand citizen working as an archaeologist in Australia, was taken hostage by criminals from a field trip with three locals.
The anthropology professor’s name has not been released due to the sensitivity of the situation. He works for an Australian university and is a permanent resident of the country, reported ABC news.
The three other people are Papua New Guinean women, including a programme coordinator and two University of PNG graduates.
A mission has been launched to rescue them, according to PNG police commissioner David Manning, who said security forces will “use whatever means necessary” to free the hostages as their safety was the top priority.
“Our specialised security force personnel will use whatever means necessary against the criminals, up to and including the use of lethal force, in order to provide for the safety and security of the people being held,” said Mr Manning, branding the criminal group “opportunists”.
The people were captured from the border region of South Highlands, Hela and Western Provinces.
Mr Manning said they “are operating within their set rules of engagement in dealing with these criminals”.
Urging them to release the hostages, Mr Manning warned that “failure to comply and resisting arrest could cost [them] their lives”.
He said the “opportunists” have demanded a ransom.
“These are opportunists that have obviously not thought this situation through before they acted, and have been asking for cash to be paid,” Mr Manning said.
PNG prime minister James Marape said authorities are treating the incident very “seriously” and said villagers not linked to the criminal group are assisting in negotiations.
“I think this is the first time a ransom is attached to a hostage in a situation like this and we’re treating it very seriously,” he said.
“We don’t want it to be a precedent for the future, but we’re working with the authorities concerned.”
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Tuesday in an email to the Associated Press that it was aware of the case, but would not provide additional information for privacy reasons.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is yet to comment.
It comes as authorities in nearby Indonesia’s Papua region are still working to free a New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage by separatist fighters.
Philip Mehrtens is being held by insurgents who are demanding Papua’s independence in exchange for the pilot.
