Papua New Guinea authorities are bracing for an escalation in violence after dozens of people were killed in a tribal massacre on Sunday.
Following the killings, Prime Minister James Marape is facing calls to declare a state of emergency to deal with the ongoing fighting.
At least 54 people were killed in an inter-tribal ambush in the remote village of Akom in Enga province on Sunday, police task forces and the Papua New Guinea Defense Force said. Officials have revised their estimates of the total death toll several times in the days since the tragedy.
Bodies were recovered by local residents and police, and graphic images of corpses piled up on trucks went viral. Police and security officials in Enga said the incident was the worst massacre in months.
“Some of the bodies are still in the bushes and some have not yet been recovered,” a security source in Enga said on Tuesday.
Marape said the massacre was an act of “domestic terrorism.” Marape said the National Executive Council would meet this week to decide what measures to take to deal with the situation, which could include declaring a state of emergency for the region.
He said Papua New Guinea would also “seek Australia’s support to support, guide and guide our police forces at an administrative level, while local police forces are deployed to the front line with the support of soldiers.” Ta.
“Bills will be introduced to strengthen the law enforcement capacity of security forces to intervene in acts of domestic terrorism, and it will also protect police and defense personnel,” Marape said.
Police Commissioner David Manning said security forces had launched a “targeted operation” in Enga to restore law and order. He said security officials were “directed to use all levels of force necessary to prevent further violence and retaliation.” This includes the use of deadly force.
“As the number of illegal firearms increases, we also need tougher measures to bring domestic terrorists, including gun smugglers and those who finance firearms and ammunition, to justice,” Manning said in a statement.
Tribal fighting is not uncommon in some parts of Papua New Guinea, but violence has escalated in Enga over the past year. Miki Keoku, a member of parliament for Enga province, called on the central government to declare a state of emergency in the province.
Mr Keokuk said he was concerned that tribal fighting in his constituency had become increasingly sophisticated and was now spreading to neighboring areas. He said the inter-tribal violence had evolved into a guerrilla-type war involving parties across the state directly, mainly due to the influx of weapons.
“The ongoing inter-tribal fighting in my district is [neighbouring] Wabag district, where gunmen from all over the state participate. We cannot allow this situation to continue,” Keokuk said.
Mr Keokuk said gunmen hired from other parts of the state were taking part in the fighting, which he said was supported by “leaders and educated elites” of the conflicting factions. He called on the Police Commissioner to investigate those involved in the supply of arms and ammunition.
“Hundreds of lives have been lost. Properties worth millions of kina have been looted and destroyed. We don’t want this to continue. It has to stop now,” he said.
Rebecca Kuku is a reporter for The National newspaper based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
