World Courant
Tribal violence escalates as mercenaries and automated weapons enter the tense island.
A gang has killed a minimum of 26 males, ladies and kids in an assault on three distant villages in northern Papua New Guinea, police mentioned.
The gang, which struck earlier this month, consisted of “30 younger males,” in line with James Baugen, a provincial police commander in East Sepik province. “It was one thing actually horrible,” he instructed the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) on Friday.
“Among the our bodies that had been left in a single day had been taken by crocodiles into the swamp. We solely noticed the spot the place they had been killed. Heads had been chopped off,” Baugen instructed ABC.
All the homes within the villages had been burned and the remaining villagers had been hiding in a police station, too afraid to call the perpetrators. The attackers had been in hiding and there had been no arrests, he added.
Volker Turk, the United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights, has confirmed that the assaults befell on July 16 and 18 and had been motivated by “a dispute over land and lake possession and consumer rights”.
Turk mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday that the demise toll may exceed 50 as authorities looked for lacking folks. Sixteen youngsters had been killed within the assault, he added, and greater than 200 villagers had fled when their houses had been set on fireplace.
“I’m appalled by the stunning outbreak of lethal violence in Papua New Guinea,” mentioned the UN human rights chief, who referred to as on authorities “to conduct immediate, neutral and clear investigations and be certain that these accountable are held to account.”
Cycle of violence
Papua New Guinea, house to tons of of tribes and languages, has a protracted historical past of tribal warfare. However an inflow of mercenaries and automated weapons has fueled the cycle of violence.
In current many years, the nation’s inhabitants has greater than doubled, placing rising strain on land and assets and fueling tribal warfare.
In February, Turkey’s workplace referred to as on the Pacific island nation to deal with the basis causes of the unrest after dozens of individuals had been killed in preventing between rival tribes.
At the very least 26 males had been killed in an ambush in Enga province in February. Eight folks had been killed and 30 homes had been set on fireplace in preventing in the identical area in Could.
East Sepik Governor Allan Fowl instructed ABC that violence within the nation has elevated over the previous decade.
“For the previous 10 years or so, when against the law is dedicated, investigations hardly ever result in arrests,” he mentioned. “Even when they’re arrested, it is onerous to go to court docket and go to jail. That provides lawbreakers extra braveness to do the mistaken factor.”
Gang kills 26 villagers in northern Papua New Guinea: Police | Information
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