64 dead in Papua New Guinea tribal violence
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Officials patrolling near the town of Wabag, 600km north-west of the capital Port Moresby.
PHOTO: AFP
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PORT MORESBY – A total of 64 bloodied bodies have been found along a stretch of road in Papua New Guinea’s remote highlands, the police said on Feb 19, a sign of a gruesome escalation of long-running violence between local warring tribes.
The victims were believed to be tribal fighters who were ambushed by a rival group in the early hours of Feb 18.
The incident occurred near the town of Wabag, 600km north-west of the capital Port Moresby.
The rugged and lawless area has for years been the scene of tit-for-tat mass killings between rival tribesmen.
Graphic police images from the scene showed bloodied bodies lying by the side of the road and piled up on the back of a flatbed truck. Some bodies had their limbs hacked, and they were left naked by the road with beer bottles or cans placed on their chests.
The police on Feb 19 said gunfights were ongoing in nearby valleys and bodies were still being recovered from bushland near the road.
“We believe there are still some bodies... out there in the bush,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Samson Kua said.
Tribes have fought one another in Papua New Guinea for centuries, but an influx of automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.
AC Kua said the gunmen used a veritable armoury, including SLR, AK-47, M-4, AR-15 and M-16 rifles, as well as pump-action shotguns and homemade firearms.
The province’s Acting Police Commander Patrick Peka said many of the dead were believed to be mercenaries – men who roam the countryside offering to help tribes settle scores with their rivals.
“The police and government cannot do much when leaders and educated elites supply arms and ammunition, and engage the services of gunmen from other parts of the province,” he said.
Papua New Guinea’s government has tried suppression, mediation, amnesties and a range of other strategies to control the violence, with little success.
The military had deployed about 100 troops to the area, but their impact has been limited, and the security services remain outnumbered and outgunned.
The killings often take place in remote communities, with clansmen launching raids or ambushes in revenge for previous attacks.
Civilians, including pregnant women and children, have been targeted in the past.
The murders are often extremely violent, with victims hacked with machetes, burned, mutilated or tortured.
The police privately complain that they do not have the resources to do the job, with officers so badly paid that some of the weapons that end up in the hands of tribesmen have come from the police force.
Opponents of Prime Minister James Marape’s government on Feb 19 called for more police to be deployed and for the force’s commissioner to resign.
Papua New Guinea’s population has more than doubled since 1980, placing increasing strain on land and resources and deepening tribal rivalries.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of neighbouring Australia, on Feb 19 described the incident as “very disturbing”.
“We are providing considerable support, particularly for training police officers and for security in Papua New Guinea,” he told public broadcaster ABC. “We remain available to provide whatever support we can.” AFP
