A home in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Photo: Supplied
A former RNZ Pacific journalist who spent a lot of time covering Melanesia says the police struggle to contain the ongoing series of tribal "paybacks" in Papua New Guinea.
"There's been an influx of weapons that's increased in recent years...and the police don't have a lot of control" - Former journalist Johnny Blades
Police commissioner David Manning says the situation on the ground has returned to relative normalcy with no renewed fighting, but they are not dropping their guard.
Former RNZ Pacific journalist Johnny Blades told Morning Report the long-running tensions show no sign of easing.
"It was just the latest in a series of paybacks and it happens to be an ambush attack.
"Footage has emerged of 50 or 60 bodies being dumped on the back of a police truck. The police weren't on the seen until later.
"This is where it's at. It's quite vicious and doesn't really show any signs of abating because the police are out-gunned and out-manned and it's the same with the defence force."
Blades said police had made attempts to hold peace talks and enforce lockdowns, but those failed in the long run.
"It is a war really... it's an endless cycle of payback killings between two main tribes," he said.
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"But it started with an attack by one tribesman on a person from another tribe and subsequent payback attacks have just escalated and got larger to the point of last weekend's attack."
Papua New Guinea police commissioner David Manning said police could confirm 49 bodies had been recovered from the weekend's fighting in Enga Province, but it was possible more would be found.
Manning warned that troublemakers or "any tribesman who raises a weapon will more than likely be shot by security forces".