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At least 24 killed in brutal Papua New Guinea tribal massacres
by Staff Writers
Port Moresby (AFP) July 10, 2019

Five things about Papua New Guinea's tribal violence
Port Moresby (AFP) July 10, 2019 - At least 24 people, including women and children, have been killed in three days of tribal violence in Papua New Guinea. Here are five things about the killings in the remote and dangerous highland area.

What happened?

Details are still emerging but according to eyewitnesses and local media, six people returning from a ceremony were ambushed and killed on July 6.

The next day gunmen entered Karida village in central Hela province and killed 18 people as well as two unborn children, shooting and hacking them to death.

Graphic images of the aftermath showed corpses bundled up in mosquito nets and small children with severe head wounds.

Who did it?

Police are investigating. But Prime Minister James Marape -- who comes from the area -- has blamed "Haguai, Liwi and OKiru gunmen" referring to three related warlords who have been fighting the Tagali tribe.

While the violence may cut along clan lines, it is unclear who the perpetrators are.

Highlanders say more and more outsiders are now involved in violent incidents -- including roving mercenaries and arms dealers willing to work for cash, pigs or the kidnap of women.

Why are they fighting?

Papua New Guinea is incredibly diverse, with over 800 languages, strong tribal identities and a central government that is often secondary to local courts and customs. The population has more than doubled in the last half-century, intensifying competition for land and resources.

The latest violence has been linked to control of nearby Mount Kare, believed to hold high-grade gold deposits.

Is this violence normal?

Death tolls are hard to come by, but tribal fights were reported long before Westerners first visited the highlands in the 1930s.

Some elderly highlanders speak of taking part in pitched battles with spears, arrows and axes within their lifetimes.

Those scenes are now rarer, but spasms of violence still occur and there is some evidence that the clashes may be getting more deadly.

There has been an influx of American M16s, AR-15s and Belgian FN rifles.

Papua New Guinean military intelligence say the weapons may come from nearby Bougainville Island -- where a civil war raged until 1998 -- or from across the porous Indonesian border, or even from within the security services themselves.

Where is this taking place?

The latest attack was in Karida village in Hela province, part of the central highlands region.

The area is extremely rugged, with dense vegetation and few roads or navigable rivers.

According to the International Red Cross, fighting kills dozens and displaces thousands every year.

Papua New Guinea has high crime rates but mistrust in the police is rife. Many people turn to private security firms before the police, especially in the capital Port Moresby -- which is among the most dangerous cities in the world.

At least 24 people, including two pregnant women and their unborn children, were killed in a three-day spasm of tribal violence in Papua New Guinea's lawless highlands, prompting the prime minister on Wednesday to promise swift justice.

Officials said the deaths occurred in Hela province -- a rugged region in the west of the country -- when rival tribes apparently clashed over control of local gold deposits in the mineral-rich soil.

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.

Hela provincial administrator William Bando told AFP on Wednesday that the death toll could rise.

"We are still waiting for today's brief from our officials on the ground," he said, calling for at least 100 police to be deployed to reinforce some 40 local officers.

The incident has shocked both the country and recently appointed Prime Minister James Marape, whose constituency includes the district where the killings occurred.

He vowed more security deployments and warned the perpetrators "your time is up".

"Today is one of the saddest day of my life," he said in a statement. "Many children and mothers innocently murdered in Munima and Karida villages of my electorate."

In the Karida attack, six women and eight children -- as well as two pregnant women and their unborn children -- were hacked and shot to death in a 30-minute rampage.

Local health worker Pills Kolo said it was hard to recognise some of the body parts, and posted images of remains bundled together with mosquito nets used as makeshift body bags.

Images provided by local police showed the corpses of two children of school age, one with severe head injuries.

Local media reported the attack appeared to related to the ambush and murder of six people the day before.

Marape blamed the violence on three related warlords who have been fighting against the Tagali tribe over local gold deposits.

"Gun-toting criminals, your time is up," Marape said. "Learn from what I will do to criminals who killed innocent people, I am not afraid to use strongest measures in law on you."

He noted that the death penalty was "already a law".

Tribal clashes are a frequent occurrence in Papua New Guinea's highlands, where old rivalries prompted by rape or theft, or disputes over tribal boundaries or resources, often prompt violence.

But this is the most serious incident in years and the government -- which has only 40 police and 16 soldiers in the area according to Bando -- is struggling to respond.

In nearby Enga province, a similar surge in violence prompted the establishment of a makeshift military garrison and the deployment of a company of around 100 government soldiers under the command of a Sandhurst-trained major.

But even those forces lack the resources to tackle difficult terrain.

Bando said 35 officers currently providing security for a nearby ExxonMobil gas project "should be released to assist those on the ground to ensure safety for the families".

Marape has not yet provided details of planned security deployments to the area, but appeared exasperated by the current resources available.

"How can a province of 400,000 people function with policing law and order with under 60 policemen, and occasional operational military and police that does no more than band-aid maintenance," he said.


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