"Gaunt-looking hostage pilot Philip Mehrtens reassures family with chilling 'It's me' in new proof of life video"

New Zealand pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens, held captive by rebels in West Papua for a year, appears in a chilling new hostage video, looking gaunt and pale. In the video, he sends a heartbreaking message to his wife and son, expressing hope for a reunion and asking for supplies. The rebels have previously threatened to execute him and demand negotiations with Indonesia. The West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, has been fighting Indonesian control in the region since the 1960s.