The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea announced on Sunday the release of a New Zealand university professor and two guides, kidnapped and held hostage for a week by an armed group.
"
It took us a long time but the last three
hostages were successfully freed," Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement.
The professor, who works in an Australian university, as well as the two Papua New Guinean guides had been detained since last Sunday in a remote region of the country, with dense vegetation.
A fourth person had also been kidnapped, but police announced his release on Wednesday.
Read alsoPapua New Guinea: the police promise to do everything possible to free the hostages
The kidnappers had initially demanded a ransom of one million dollars, a colossal sum for this country among the poorest in the region.
She was not paid, according to James Marape, who mentioned "
covert operations
" to free the hostages.
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