More than 35 dead in days of tribal violence in Papua New Guinea, police said – More media news

Deputy police chief Joseph Tondon in Enga province said the death toll from the violence, blamed on illegal miners, was still being determined, AFP reported.

“There was heavy fighting on Sunday. An estimated 35 men were killed,” Tondon said.

“I add up all the numbers. Some innocent bystanders were also murdered,” he added.

Mate Bagossy, a United Nations humanitarian adviser to the South Pacific island nation, said up to 50 people had been killed in days of violence in Enga. He had no estimate of the number of injured and was checking with local health facilities, which he said were ill-equipped to deal with medical emergencies.

Authorities told aid agencies on Tuesday that up to 300 soldiers and police would move into the area to restore peace, Bagossy said.

“We are not sure whether the situation will calm down. The situation has not stabilized yet,” said Bagossy.

Fighting in the Porgera Valley broke out on the outskirts of the town of Porgera near the New Porgera gold mine. The violence forced the mine to largely cease operations until at least Thursday.

Houses and shops in the village of Suyan were razed to the ground in the fighting, the Post-Courier newspaper reported.

At a disaster management meeting led by Papua New Guinea's National Disaster Management Centre and UN Resident Coordinator Richard Howard on Tuesday, it was agreed to send a team to Porgera within days to assess the humanitarian needs, level of danger and accessibility of the area, Bagossy said.

One obstacle for relief workers was that the main road to Porgera, 40 kilometers from the town, remained blocked by debris from a massive landslide on May 24. The national government estimates that more than 2,000 villagers were buried and hundreds left homeless. The United Nations estimates that only 670 villagers have died, but does not deny that the death toll could be much higher.

Tribal warfare is a growing security problem throughout Papua New Guinea and is widespread in Enga. Recovery from the situation since the landslide has been slow.

Bagossy did not know how many fighters were involved near Porgera, but videos on social media showed they were heavily armed.

“There is a combination of high-powered weapons, including assault rifles. It's not very common yet – it's expensive – but it's becoming more common,” Bagossy said.

Tensions in society had been simmering for some time, but last week the violence escalated.

“According to reports, this started as a relatively small conflict between illegal miners,” Bagossy said.

“The conflict escalated into clashes between two groups and then these two groups reportedly called in their allies, leading to an outbreak of violence throughout the area of ​​Porgera town and its surroundings,” he added.