26 dead in gang attacks in Papua New Guinea | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

MELBOURNE, Australia – At least 26 people were killed by a gang in three remote villages in northern Papua New Guinea and eight villagers were still missing Friday. The incident occurred in the South Pacific island nation, which is embroiled in disputed land ownership and allegations of sorcery, officials said.

“It was something quite horrific… as I approached the area, I saw there were children, men and women. They were killed by a group of 30 young men,” East Sepik provincial deputy police chief James Baugen told the Australian Broadcasting Corp on Friday.

Baugen said all the houses in the villages had been burned down and the remaining villagers had sought shelter at a police station because they were too frightened to give the names of the perpetrators.

“Some of the bodies that were left during the night were taken to the swamp by crocodiles. We only saw the place where they were killed. There were heads chopped off,” said Baugen. He said the attackers were in hiding and there had been no arrests yet.

Chris Jensen, country director of the aid group World Vision, said 26 people were dead, eight were missing and 51 families had been displaced from their homes in the Angoram district on the crocodile-infested Sepik River, the longest river on the island of New Guinea.

“The trigger, as in most cases in Papua New Guinea, appears to be a combination of factors. But in addition to land ownership, sorcery also appears to be one of the triggers,” Jensen told the Associated Press.

“A person is accused of sorcery and these can be people who may have some control over assets or land,” Jensen said.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk said in a statement on Wednesday that the attacks took place on July 16 and 18.

“I am appalled by the shocking outbreak of deadly violence in Papua New Guinea, which appears to be the result of a dispute over land and sea ownership and use rights,” Turk said.

Turk said 16 children were among the dead.

“This number could rise to over 50 as local authorities search for missing people. In addition, over 200 villagers fled when their homes were set on fire,” Turk said.

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in the capital Port Moresby did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

East Sepik Governor Allan Bird said violence in the diverse country of more than 10 million people, most of whom are subsistence farmers, has escalated over the past decade. Police are underfunded and rarely intervene, Bird said.

Papua New Guinea has more than 800 indigenous languages ​​and has been torn by tribal conflicts over land for centuries. Most of the land belongs to tribes, not individuals, and there are no clear borders.

In recent decades, conflicts have become increasingly deadly as fighters have switched from bows and arrows to assault rifles. Mercenaries are also increasingly involved.

Blake Johnson, an analyst at the Australian Security Policy Institute think tank, said that while the East Sepik massacres were a particularly gruesome event, they were “not the first mass killing this year” in Papua New Guinea.

“An escalation of violence between groups, often leading to reprisal killings, is at best culturally accepted and at worst encouraged,” Johnson said.

Police officers lack the resources and training to police most parts of the country, he said.

“The country is too big, too harsh and too difficult to travel, and we don’t even know how many people live there,” Johnson said.

Tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea attracted international attention in February when at least 26 fighters and an unknown number of bystanders were killed in a firefight in Enga province.

The ongoing conflict complicated emergency relief efforts in May, when a landslide devastated at least one village in the same province. The government said more than 2,000 people were killed, while the United Nations put the death toll at 670.

The internal security problems of Papua New Guinea, the most populous country in the South Pacific after Australia, have become a front line in China’s struggle against the United States and its allies for influence in the region.

Australia, Papua New Guinea’s former colonial power and largest aid donor, signed a bilateral security pact last year to address its closest neighbor’s growing security concerns. Beijing is also reportedly looking to sign a police agreement with the country.

In 2022, China signed a secret security pact with the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea’s neighboring islands, which included police assistance and raised fears that a Chinese naval base could be built in the South Pacific.

FILE – A performer in traditional dress stands before a welcoming ceremony in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 16, 2018. At least 26 people were killed by a gang of men in three remote villages in northern Papua New Guinea last week, United Nations and police officials said Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)