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This handout picture released by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary on 19 February 2024 shows a dead body on a road as officials patrol near the town of Wabag, 600 kilometres northwest of the capital Port Moresby.
- At least 64 people have been killed in tribal violence in
the northern highlands of Papua New Guinea, involving the Ambulin and Sikin
tribes and their allies. - The clashes, described as the “largest” in the
nation’s recent history, began at dawn on Sunday in the Wapenamanda District of
the Enga Province. - Rival factions used high-powered guns, such as AK47 and M4
rifles, resulting in a significant death toll, with the military deploying
about 100 troops to the area.
At least 64 people have been
killed in tribal violence in the northern highlands of Papua New Guinea,
according to media reports, with one police officer describing the killings as
the “largest” in the Pacific nation’s recent history.
The
Post-Courier newspaper, citing local police, said the killings began at dawn on
Sunday in the Wapenamanda District of the Enga Province.
They
involved the Ambulin and Sikin tribes as well as their allies, it said.
Police
told the Post-Courier they retrieved some 64 bodies from the roadside,
grasslands and hills of Wapenamanda by Monday morning.
Rival
factions used “high-powered guns”, such as AK47 and M4 rifles, in the
battles, the newspaper reported. The death toll is expected to rise, it added.
The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said the violence involved the same
tribes that were responsible for clashes that killed 60 in Enga Province last
year.
George Kakas, a senior officer in the country’s police force, said:
“This is by far the largest [killing] I’ve seen in Enga, maybe in all of Highlands as well, in Papua New Guinea.”
“We
are all devastated, we’re all mentally stressed out,” Kakas told the ABC. “It’s
really hard to comprehend.”
The
AFP news agency said police received graphic videos and photos from the scene,
showing stripped and bloodied bodies lying by the side of the road and piled up
on the back of a flatbed truck.
The
agency said the military has deployed about 100 troops to the area but that
their impact has been limited, with the security services remaining outnumbered
and outgunned.
READ | At least 15 killed in Papua New Guinea riots, Prime Minister vows crackdown on ‘lawlessness’
In
the capital, Port Moresby, opponents of Prime Minister James Mara’s government
called for quick action, including the deployment of additional troops to the
area.
“We
call on the government to immediately establish where the guns and bullets are
coming from to fuel this senseless violence,” they added in a statement,
according to the Post-Courier.
Australian
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also expressed concern.
“That
is very disturbing the news that has come out of Papua New Guinea,” he
said in a radio interview on Monday.
“We’re
providing considerable support, particularly for training police officers and
for security in Papua New Guinea.”
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