Hundreds of women and children have been displaced and there were reports of food shortages after five days of brutal fighting which broke out on Wednesday last week between rival clans living near the Porgera gold mine. Photo: Supplied
The police and military in Papua New Guinea are struggling to cope with chronic tribal "revenge killings" among "local terrorists" with high powered weapons in Enga Province.
Reports from people on the ground after the latest clash place the death toll at about 50, but no official figures have been released.
Hundreds of women and children have been displaced and there were reports of food shortages after five days of brutal fighting which broke out on Wednesday last week between rival clans living near the Porgera gold mine.
50 people believed to be dead near PNG mine
The police admit they were outnumbered, and reinforcements have been sent in to try and ease tensions between hundreds of gunmen fighting in dense bush.
The acting western division assistant police commissioner, Joseph Tondop, said what began as a dispute between two illegal miners, erupted into uncontrollable violence, with random killings.
"We can classify them as local terrorists, because they were all armed with very high-powered weapons, the presence of illegal weapons in Porgera alone is quite alarming," he said.
"In this part of the region, revenge attacks are very much part of the culture and in the process of taking revenge more people die."
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Timothy Andambo, a local landowner, said the level of violence and lawlessness in the latest clash reflects a breakdown of family and cultural values.
"The younger generation who have no formal education or are disadvantaged, they're living in fractured family homes, they're growing up on the streets, they have no understanding of cultural norms and values," he said.
"When these uneducated guys, who are intoxicated with drugs, have a gun in their hands, they just go berserk."
Political interference hampering police efforts
Retired Papua New Guinea defence force chief Commodore Peter Ilau said politicians continued to undermine law enforcement efforts.
"The police and military are weak because of constant political interference, politicians should allow them to use their professional mindset, their training, to respond and do it their way," he said.
"Logistics and resources have always been a problem, the concern is how governments have managed these institutions.
And the appointment of people who are not even qualified to strategise and to command, control and deal with such atrocities."
The police disagree.
"Politics has got nothing to do with operations, our leadership needs to stand up and uphold the rule of law. It's not corruption, it's just that we are not doing our job well," Tondop said.
The fighting has subsided, although tensions remain. The police are now focussing on identifying the leaders behind the fighting, discussing their grievances and making arrests, if mediation fails.
Papua New Guinea's deputy prime minister, John Rosso, said its time the police started enforcing the law.
"Our security forces need to start arresting people, too often you see warlords walking in front of soldiers and policemen with weapons in plain view. No one gets arrested," he said.
"Parliament has changed the law, anyone found with an illegal weapon is supposed to have a maximum penalty of life behind bars."
Rosso said that there had been no police recruitment in the past ten years because of a lack of capacity to train them.
Commodore Ilau believes the main reason for the tribal clashes is the ongoing issue of poverty.
"It's a mixture of tribal legacies, the unfair sharing of wealth from the Porgera mine proceeds, a minority group benefits more than the majority. That's not only confined to the Highlands, it's all over Papua New Guinea as well," he said.