Hostage

A Queensland archaeologist has arrived in Toowoomba after being held hostage for a week in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Gang who captured Prof Bryce Barker and his research team wanted compensation after two members shot at logging site.

“We thank the government of Papua New Guinea for its leadership in securing the hostages’ release. They ran into the professor and his group and, on the spur of the moment, decided to hold them hostage to get the attention of the authorities so that they could demand compensation for two of their men that were injured.” In the days before the kidnapping, the captors encountered a security team at a logging site in Kumasi. But negotiations stalled when the satellite phone battery failed. Two of the group were shot and badly injured. “When the group was chased out of Kumasi, two of their men were badly injured.

Police in Papua New Guinea say there is "unfinished business" in their pursuit of the criminal gang who took an Australian archaeologist and three local ...

"With changing times, it's going to be a problem that may increase. I'm just so glad everyone got out safely and I hope everyone's going to be OK after this." Dozens of heavily armed police and defence personnel have been flown into the area in recent days. "It's a big relief to the hostages themselves and for their families in Papua New Guinea, in New Zealand and in Australia," New Zealand High Commissioner Phillip Taula said. She said while he would have had a lot of support from outside groups during the ordeal, "he would have kept communicating with kidnappers to save the lives of the small team that was with him". "He was always dropped in by helicopter to the most remote areas … Mr Marape conceded the region had been a "dark space" in terms of accessibility and policing, but he said police and defence forces would remain on the ground to secure the area. "He had always worked in the most remote areas for decades." "The operation continues to ensure that those who engage in criminal enterprise by the barrel of the gun face the laws of our country," Mr Marape said. "The result does not negate the criminality that was involved," he said. "We reached a stage in the operation where we felt we could not delay anymore, they had to come out," Mr Marape said. "The horrendous experience that those four captives went through is a story that I don't want any friends of Papua New Guinea, or any Papua New Guineans, to experience again," Mr Marape said.

A professor based in Australia and several other hostages taken captive in the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea have been freed.

“We are relieved to hear that our much-loved colleague from the University of Southern Queensland Prof Bryce Barker has been released today,” Geraldine Mackenzie said in a statement on Sunday. The vice-chancellor of the University of Southern Queensland expressed relief and thanked the PNG, Australian and NZ governments. The highly regarded and experienced archaeologist and his research crew were conducting fieldwork in the remote Southern Highlands province of PNG when they were taken hostage by the armed group.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong says that an Australian-based archaeologist and two Papua New Guinea nationals have been released from captivity ...

Papua New Guinea authorities confirmed the release of one hostage on Friday. The last three hostages — the professor and two Papua New Guinea women — have now been freed safely. Police did not say when the kidnapping occurred.

Bryce Barker, who now lives in Australia, was held alongside fellow members of his research team.

He has many years experience in undertaking research in PNG. "Bryce is a highly regarded archaeologist and a valued colleague at the University of Southern Queensland and in the wider archaeological community. Their release brings to an end days of negotiations, and a complex security operation involving PNG police and defence personnel, in consultation with the Australian and New Zealand governments.

PORT MORESBY: Three hostages, including a New Zealand archaeologist, were freed in Papua New Guinea on Sunday after a tense week of negotiations between ...

Earlier this week, the captors released another woman who was also part of the group of academics working in the area when they were kidnapped. Marape said all three appeared unharmed although “obviously traumatised” after the “random opportunist crime”. Australia´s and New Zealand´s foreign ministers welcomed the news and thanked PNG authorities for their work.”I welcome news from PNG that all hostages have been released and will soon be reunited with their families,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. DUBAI: At least four Yemeni soldiers have been killed in clashes with Iran-backed Huthi rebels in the war-torn... “It has been a stressful week for all involved and to finally have the hostages back safely in the custody of our security personnel is very important for us as a country,” PNG Prime Minister James Marape said. PORT MORESBY: Three hostages, including a New Zealand archaeologist, were freed in Papua New Guinea on Sunday after a tense week of negotiations between police and armed kidnappers in the country´s rugged highlands.

An Australia-based archaeologist and two Papua New Guinea nationals have been released from captivity after...

The last three hostages — the professor and two Papua New Guinean women — have now been freed safely. Papua New Guinea authorities confirmed the release of one hostage on Friday. Barker is a New Zealand national based at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia.

A New Zealander and two other hostages have been freed in Papua New Guinea, the country's prime minister has said.

Marape said the hostages had been freed after "covert operations" and said the original ransom demand had not been met - but did not provide further details. The New Zealander - a professor at an Australian university - and two Papua New Guinea nationals were taken hostage at gunpoint last Sunday in a remote and densely forested region of the country. A New Zealander and two other hostages have been freed in Papua New Guinea, the country's prime minister said on Sunday, after they were held for a week in the highlands by an armed group.

An archaeologist taken hostage while working in Papua New Guinea's remote jungle highlands returned to Australia Monday, as police hunted for his captors.

The archaeologist had many years of experience working in the Pacific nation and was on a research trip when he was seized, Mackenzie added. Barker's Australian colleagues were relieved by the release of the "much-loved" and "highly-regarded" professor, University of Southern Queensland vice-chancellor Geraldine Mackenzie said. The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of US$1 million -- an enormous sum in one of the Pacific's poorest nations -- before settling for a smaller, undisclosed amount.

Australian archaeologist Bryce Barker touched down in Toowoomba on a specially chartered flight on Monday night. A colleague says his arrival brought an ...

- Professor Barker was released after a ransom was paid to the kidnappers Australian archaeologist Bryce Barker is recovering on home soil after he and his team were held hostage in Papua New Guinea for a week. Archaeologist Bryce Barker home in Toowoomba after being held hostage in PNG for a week

"I will not tolerate this kind of nonsense anymore." Hostages 'in good spirits' after ordeal. Mr Marape was at the airport to greet Professor Barker, Ms Haro ...

"With changing times, it's going to be a problem that may increase. I'm just so glad everyone got out safely and I hope everyone's going to be OK after this." Dozens of heavily armed police and defence personnel have been flown into the area in recent days. She said while he would have had a lot of support from outside groups during the ordeal, "he would have kept communicating with kidnappers to save the lives of the small team that was with him". "It's a big relief to the hostages themselves and for their families in Papua New Guinea, in New Zealand and in Australia," New Zealand High Commissioner Phillip Taula said. "He had always worked in the most remote areas for decades." Mr Marape conceded the region had been a "dark space" in terms of accessibility and policing, but he said police and defence forces would remain on the ground to secure the area. "When we found out on Sunday that he was safe, it was the most enormous sense of relief that I think I have ever experienced in my life," she said. "The operation continues to ensure that those who engage in criminal enterprise by the barrel of the gun face the laws of our country," Mr Marape said. "The result does not negate the criminality that was involved," he said. "We reached a stage in the operation where we felt we could not delay anymore, they had to come out," Mr Marape said. "The horrendous experience that those four captives went through is a story that I don't want any friends of Papua New Guinea, or any Papua New Guineans, to experience again," Mr Marape said.

The government will continue to work closely with Papua New Guinea after the release of an Australian professor...

"I look forward to progress on the security agreement," he said. Mr Albanese added he was pleased with the development of the bilateral relationship as Canberra and Port Moresby continued to negotiate a new security agreement, set to be finalised in April. "To not just you personally for the role you played but to your personnel who played a very positive role," Mr Albanese said.