Port Moresby - (AFP) - The police in Papua New Guinea announced Tuesday that they will use "all means", including "lethal force", to free an Australian archaeologist and three citizens who were kidnapped by an armed group at dawn Sunday and are demanding a ransom. financially for their release.

The four hostages are university professors and counselors who were kidnapped at dawn Sunday in a rugged mountainous area in the Pacific country.

Police Commissioner David Manning said security forces had called in air support in an effort to "release the people involved in complete safety".

He added that the kidnappers initially demanded one million dollars for the release of the hostages, but they soon reduced the value of this ransom.

The commissioner explained that the kidnappers "are opportunists who did not seem to study the situation before they committed their act. They demanded that the ransom be paid to them in cash."

"We are offering the kidnappers a way out. They can release their hostages and the justice system will deal with them (fairly), but their non-compliance and resistance to arrest could cost these criminals their lives," he added.

Manning stressed that the police "will use all necessary means, including lethal force, against criminals to ensure the safety of detainees."

The highlands of Papua New Guinea are a vast expanse of hilly jungle that is not entirely controlled by government forces. In recent years, tribal conflicts have intensified in this region, and arms smuggling has increased.