Tribal violence in Papua New Guinea has left more than 20 people dead with others having sustained serious injuries.The three days of violence is believed to be a retaliation for an earlier attack that had taken place on a different village, Peta. During this first attack, seven people had reportedly lost their lives. According to reports, children and pregnant women are among the more than 20 people who were killed. Philip Pimua, a worker from the Department of Health happened to visit the scene and believes he saw two pregnant women and eight children aged between one and fifteen among those who were killed.
What Leaders Have Said?
The governor of the remote highland province of Hela, Mr. Philip Undialu, said about 16 people who included women and children were killed in an attack that took place on the village of Karida on Monday. Addressing journalists, Mr. Undialu said “This has escalated into the massacre of innocent women and kids.”
The exact number of people who were killed in the attacks is yet to be known. At the moment, there are only varying reports of the number of people killed and dates that the attacks took place. Teddy Augwi, Hela Police Chief Inspector,told reporters six people had been ambushed and killed near Peta on Saturday. However, Papua New Guinea’s newspaper Post Courier, which is based in the capital Port Moresby, reported that 24 people had been killed in over three days of violence. The newspaper went on further two report that two pregnant women were among those who were killed.
In a Facebook post, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, suggested any person who was responsible for the fatal attacks could face the death penalty. He also seemed to be angry with the low police number saying“How can a province of 400,000 people function with policing law and order with under 60 policemen.”
How the Attacks Took Place
After Saturday’s attack on Peta village, the relatives of the victims retaliated with rifles the following day. During the retaliation, they killed between 16 and 18 people, Mr. Augwi said. “This is not a tribal fight where the opposing villagers face each other on field. This is a fight in guerilla warfare, meaning they play hide-and-seek and ambush their enemies” he added. After the violence, many villagers fled their homes for fear of another attack.
This is not the first case of tribal violence in Papua New Guinea as it is very common in the interior areas. Most villagers tend to avenge their relatives in retaliation in what they term as “payback’. As the police try to find those who are behind the latest attacks, residence of these two villagers will continue living with fear not knowing when the next attack will take place. As for those who have already fled their homes, it seems as if they must wait until peace returns before they can finally go back.