Papua New Guinea's prime minister has overseen a gun surrendering event in a province plagued by tribal fighting.
PNG Prime Minister James Marape addresses a large crowd in Tari at an event to mark the surrendering of high-powered weapons by groups under four separate warlords. 8 August, 2021 Photo: PNG PM Media
Dozens of people have died in tribal fights in the past few years in Hela province where a build-up of high powered weapons has proliferated among tribes and groups led by warlords.
In Hela's provincial capital Tari, which is James Marape's own district, the prime minister addressed a huge crowd on the ongoing local peace initiative.
His office reported that factions led by four different warlords had surrendered high-powered firearms - all of them modern and factory-made.
Dozens of people have died in tribal fights in the past few years in Hela, with Tari often a focus for violence.
In the event, tribal warlords from Tagali local level government area - O'Kiru, Libe, Ayago and Igo Agau - handed over illegal weapons that have been used in tribal fights against each other.
For decades, Hela has had numerous internal conflicts between tribes or supporters of rival political figures, resulting in many deaths and lingering lawlessness.
Marape said that partly to blame was the lack of police presence in the province, with only about 60 policemen servicing the whole province on an ongoing basis.
But he announced that the government had approved a new army battalion and 500 police personnel to be stationed long-term in Hela to see the peace process through.
The prime minister thanked Hela's Governor Phillip Undialu for overseeing the peace process to bring previously warring tribes together.
Marape urged tribes and groups yet to lay down their weapons to do so in the name of peace, saying the aim was for the province to be gun-free.
He said peace would be essential for a Small and Medium Enterprises business drive that the coalition government was investing in for Hela.
"We are getting the 10 percent of Hela who have held 90 percent of Hela people to ransom with their lawless activities to come out and join the rest of Hela with SME activities."
Hela is a resource rich province which hosts gas fields at the heart of the country's major LNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) project operated by Exxon Mobil, which began exports in 2014.