Brussels – Two Belgians held hostage for over two months by a separatist group in the Papua New Guinea jungle have been released, the Belgian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Johan Van den Eynde, 47, and Philippe Simon, 49, were taken hostage by the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) on June 7 while filming a documentary about people in the Irian Jaya region, where separatists have recently stepped up their fight for independence from Indonesia.

The Belgians were released on Wednesday following mediation from ethnic Papuans after three earlier failed attempts, Foreign Ministry spokesman Michel Malherbe told Reuters. He could not say whether any concessions had been made in return for their release. Both Belgians arrived in Jayapura, the capital of the Irian Jaya region, on Thursday morning, Malherbe said.

The leader of the separatist movement, Titut Murib, did not seek a ransom for the hostages, but demanded the closure of one of the world's largest copper and gold mines – operated by US miner Freeport McMoran on the island, an international forum on the plight of his people, as well as greater media attention to the fight for independence.