Demand for ceasefire Tribal violence leaves 53 dead
FIFTY-THREE people have been killed in tribal violence in Papua New Guinea’s highlands, police said, the latest in a string of mass deaths linked to long-running feuds in the region.
Police Commissioner David Manning said on Sunday that officers and soldiers had retrieved the bodies of 53 men.
They are believed to have been killed near the town of Wabag, 600 kilometres northwest of the capital Port Moresby.
The exact circumstances of the deaths were not immediately clear, but police said there had been reports of heavy gunfire in the area.
The incident is thought to be linked to a conflict between Sikin and Kaekin tribesmen.
Police received graphic videos and photos purporting to be from the scene.
They showed stripped and bloodied bodies lying by the side of the road and piled up on the back of a flatbed truck.
Highland clans have fought each other in Papua New Guinea for centuries, but an influx of automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.
Papua New Guinea’s government has tried suppression, mediation, amnesties and a range of other strategies
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations Security Council is likely to vote on Tuesday on an Algerian push for the 15-member body to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, said diplomats, a move the United States signaled it would veto.
Algeria put forward an initial draft resolution more than two weeks ago. But U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda ThomasGreenfield quickly said the text could jeopardize “sensitive negotiations” aimed at brokering 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. a pause in the war.
Algeria requested on Saturday that the council vote on Tuesday, diplomats said. To be adopted, U.N. Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, China or Russia.
“The United States does not support action on this draft resolution. Should it come up for a vote as drafted, it will not be adopted,” Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement on Saturday.