53 individuals have died in tribal conflict in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, becoming the latest in a series of mass fatalities connected to long-standing rivalries in the area.
On Sunday, February 18, Police Commissioner David Manning announced that 53 men’s bodies had been recovered by law enforcement and military personnel. 600 kilometers northwest of Port Moresby, the nation’s capital, is where they are said to have died, close to the village of Wabag.
Although the precise cause of death was not immediately known, authorities stated that there had been numerous reports of shooting in the vicinity.
Conflict between the Kaekin and Sikin tribesmen is believed to be connected to the tragedy.
Police allegedly obtained graphic images and recordings from the site. They displayed victims that were bloodied and naked, both stacked up on a flatbed truck and left by the side of the road.
In Papua New Guinea, Highland tribes have been engaged in bloody conflicts for millennia, but the introduction of automatic weapons has increased the lethality of battles and intensified the cycle of bloodshed. The government of Papua New Guinea has attempted with varying degrees of success to curb the violence through amnesties, mediation, suppression, and other measures.
About one hundred military personnel have been sent to the region, but their influence has been little and the security agencies are still outnumbered and outgunned.
Clansmen often conduct ambushes or raids in retaliation for earlier attacks, leading to the killings, which frequently occur in isolated villages. In the past, targets among the civilian population have included youngsters and expectant mothers. The victims of these frequently incredibly gruesome crimes are burned, disfigured, machete-hacked, or otherwise tortured.
In private, police personnel lament that they lack the resources to carry out their duties and that they are paid so poorly that some of the weapons that tribesmen end up with are police-issued.
On Monday, those opposed to the administration of Prime Minister James Marape demanded the resignation of the force’s commissioner and the deployment of additional police. Since 1980, the population of Papua New Guinea has more than doubled, putting increased pressure on the country’s resources and land while escalating tensions amongst tribes.
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