Dozens killed in massacre in Papua New Guinea, official says
At least 53 people have been killed in clashes in Papua New Guinea's remote highlands, where deadly violence has escalated between more than a dozen tribal groups, a senior security official said.
George Kakas, Acting Chief Inspector of the Royal Military Police of Papua New Guinea, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the death toll from the incident in Enga province was likely to rise. It was not clear from his comments when the killings occurred, and police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“These tribesmen have been killed all over the countryside and in the bush,” Mr Kakas told the broadcaster. “Police and defense had to do their best to suppress the situation at their own risk.”
Bodies were found in a field, along roads and near a river, Mr Kakas said. Video footage and photos shared on social media, the authenticity of which could not immediately be confirmed, showed dozens of bodies piled on the back of an open truck.
Police said as many as 17 different tribes were involved in the clashes.
About 10 million people live in Papua New Guinea, which is larger than California. It is largely rural and a large part of the population works in agriculture. Culturally it is extremely diverse; According to Survival, a group that advocates for the rights of indigenous people, there are more than 300 tribes spread across the country and the neighboring Indonesian regions of Papua and West Papua.
Tribal violence has long plagued Enga Province, in central Papua New Guinea, but has become increasingly common recently due to political issues and tensions over resource management, which together have led to an escalation of tit-for-tat violence, according to the ABC. Last year, authorities locked down the province for three months to control unrest.
At least 150 people were killed in clashes in 2023, and the death toll has risen in recent years as tribespeople have switched from using traditional bows and arrows to high-powered firearms, according to Australian news media.
Peter Ipatas, the governor of Enga, last year called on Australia to help security forces in Papua New Guinea contain the violence. “We don't have the capacity to solve this,” he told the newspaper The Australian.