64 killed in Papua New Guinea tribal violence
AT LEAST 64 people were massacred in Papua New Guinea’s remote highlands, in an escalation of long-running violence between local warring tribes, police said yesterday.
The victims were believed to be tribal fighters who were ambushed by a rival group in the early hours of Sunday.
The incident occurred near the town of Wabag, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby.
The remote and rugged area has for years been the scene of tit-for-tat mass killings between rival Sikin, Ambulin, Kaekin and other tribesmen.
Graphic police images from the scene showed stripped and bloodied bodies lying by the side of the road and piled up on the back of a flatbed truck.
Some men had limbs hacked and were left naked by the road with beer bottles or cans placed on their chests.
Police yesterday 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.
Clans have fought each other in Papua New Guinea’s highlands for centuries, but an influx of mercenaries and automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.
Kua said the gunmen had used a veritable armory, including SLR, AK-47, M4, AR15 and M16 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, ammunitions and engage the services of gunmen from other parts of the province,” Peka said.