Papua New Guinea tribal violence leaves 53 dead: police

The incident is believed to be related to a conflict between members of the Sikin and Kaekin tribes (file photo)

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Tribal violence in the highlands of Papua New Guinea has killed 53 people, police say, the latest in a series of mass deaths caused by long-running conflicts in the region.

Police Chief David Manning said Sunday that officers had recovered the bodies of 53 men.

They are believed to have been killed near the town of Wabag, 600 kilometers northwest of the capital Port Moresby.

The circumstances of the death were not immediately clear, but police said there were reports of heavy gunfire in the area.

The incident is believed to be related to a conflict between members of the Sikin and Kaekin tribes.

Police received video and photos purportedly from the scene.

They saw naked, bloodied bodies lying on the side of the road and stacked in the back of a flatbed truck.

Papua New Guinea’s highland tribes have been fighting each other for centuries, but the influx of automatic weapons has made the conflicts more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.

The Papua New Guinea government has tried repression, mediation, amnesty and a range of other tactics to control the violence, but with little success.

The military has deployed about 100 troops to the area, but its impact has been limited and security services remain outnumbered and outgunned.

The killings often take place in remote communities, with tribesmen launching raids or ambushes in retaliation for previous attacks.

Civilians, including pregnant women and children, have been targeted in the past.

Murders are often extremely violent, with victims slashed with machetes, burned, dismembered or tortured.

Police complain privately that they don’t have the resources to do the job, and officers are paid so low that some of the weapons that end up in the hands of tribesmen come from the police force.

Opponents of Prime Minister James Marape’s government called on Monday for more police to be deployed and for the police commissioner to resign.

Papua New Guinea’s population has more than doubled since 1980, putting increasing pressure on land and resources and deepening tribal rivalries.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)