Tribal violence escalates as mercenaries and automatic weapons arrive in the tense island nation.
A gang has killed at least 26 men, women and children in an attack on three remote villages in northern Papua New Guinea, police said.
The gang, which attacked earlier this month, consisted of “30 young men,” according to James Baugen, provincial police commander in East Sepik province. “It was a very terrible thing,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.
“Some of the bodies that were left abandoned overnight were carried by crocodiles into the swamp. We only saw the place where they were killed. There were severed heads,” Baugen told ABC.
All the houses in the villages had been burned and the remaining inhabitants had taken refuge in a police station, too scared to identify the perpetrators. The attackers were in hiding and no arrests had yet been made, he added.
Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, confirmed that the attacks occurred on July 16 and 18 and were motivated by “a dispute over land and lake ownership and usage rights.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Turk said the death toll could exceed 50 as authorities search for missing people. Sixteen children were killed in the attack, he said, and more than 200 villagers fled as their homes were set ablaze.
“I am horrified by the shocking outbreak of deadly violence in Papua New Guinea,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling on authorities “to carry out prompt, impartial and transparent investigations and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”
Cycle of violence
Home to hundreds of tribes and languages, Papua New Guinea has a long history of tribal warfare, but the arrival of mercenaries and automatic weapons has exacerbated the cycle of violence.
The country's population has more than doubled in recent decades, putting increasing pressure on land and resources and fuelling deepening tribal rivalries.
In February, Turk's office had called on the South Pacific island nation to address the root causes of the unrest after dozens of people were killed in a clash between rival tribes.
In February, at least 26 men were killed in an ambush in Enga province. In May, eight people were killed and 30 houses burned in fighting in the same region.
East Sepik Governor Allan Bird told ABC that violence in the country had worsened over the past 10 years.
“In the last ten years, if a crime is committed, investigations rarely lead to an arrest,” he said. “Even if they are arrested, it is difficult to go to trial and end up in jail. That gives offenders more courage to do the wrong thing.”
