Church groups and students have been running peace marches in Papua New Guinea's Hela province, calling for calm in the trouble-plagued region.
People seeking shelter after the 6.3 quake. Photo: Supplied/ Philip Undialu
The province had a turbulent 2018 with a devastating earthquake and months of tribal warfare that caused the military to deploy.
The violence forced schools, hospitals, aid posts and other services to be cut and the earthquake response scaled back.
RNZ Pacific's correspondent in PNG, Melvin Levongo, said the peace marchers spent the Christmas period calling for warring factions to end the violence.
"They've been protesting, they've been marching calling for peace. There have been religious camps everywhere trying to quell the situation," Mr Levongo said.