[ad_1]
Key Points
- At least 26 people were killed in PNG’s Highlands region, which has seen escalating tribal violence in recent years.
- Police believe the men were shot dead during an ambush while on their way to attack another tribe.
- Authorities said the massacre could be the largest in the Highlands in recent history.
At least 26 people have been killed in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands in what police say could be the region’s largest massacre in recent history.
The men were shot dead during an ambush in the north Highlands’ Enga Province, according to Papua New Guinea police, who revised the death toll from a previous figure of 53 after revealing they had received the “wrong head count”.
The attack marks a major escalation of tribal fighting in the region.
Credit: SBS News
Graphic footage shared online over the weekend showed men’s bodies being loaded onto the back of a police truck.
It is understood the tribal fight involved the same tribes that killed more than 60 people last year, according to the ABC.
Officers have so far collected bodies that were scattered across the massacre site, as well as nearby roads and riverside, and are still counting “those who were shot, injured and ran off into the bushes”.
“This is by far the largest [killing] I’ve seen in Enga, maybe in all of Highlands as well, in Papua New Guinea,” he said.
“We’re all devastated, we’re all mentally stressed out. It’s really hard to comprehend.”
Anthony Albanese says Australia ready to support PNG authorities
Following news of the massacre emerging, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was ready to assist its Pacific neighbour.
“That is very disturbing the news that has come out of Papua New Guinea,” he told ABC radio.
“We remain available to provide whatever support we can in a practical way, of course, to help our friends in PNG.”
Albanese said Australia was already providing “considerable support” for the important relationship, and was helping train the country’s police officers.
Local police say tribespeople were ambushed en route to an attack
Acting Superintendent Kakas said one of the tribes, along with their allies and mercenaries, were on their way to attack a neighbouring tribe when they were ambushed.
“These tribesmen have been killed all over the countryside, all over the bush,” he said. “Police and defence forces have had to go in to do their best to quell the situation at their own risk.”
Enga Governor Peter Ipatas described the massacre as “a very, very sad occasion for us in the province” and “a bad thing for the country”.
Ipatas said Enga Province had been trying to curb the spiralling violence in recent years, which has come to involve more than a dozen warring groups and ongoing, tit-for-tat clashes.
The latest escalation, he said, involved 17 tribes.
“It’s a very big fight that’s not normally in Enga province. This is probably the biggest tribal fight we’ve ever had,” he said. “The police and security forces must take ownership and be on the ground, assess the situation and take appropriate action.”
“Because we know who is fighting, it’s not like this is criminal activity that pops up. This is a tribal fight, we know which people are involved.”
– With additional reporting from AAP
[ad_2]
Source link