Papua New Guinea police say 10 people have been tragically killed after a series of violent “revenge killings” along the Laiagam-Sirunki Highway in the Highlands province of Enga.

The attacks, which occured last Friday and Monday, are believed to be connected to an unresolved death that took place in March earlier this year.

Police said that gunmen from the Mulapin tribe ambushed a vehicle packed with passengers from the Sakare clan near Tambitanis Health Centre in Sirunki on October 11 at 8am.

• READ MORE: Deadly bus ambush in PNG’s Enga province kills, wounds many
• Other PNG crime reports

The vehicle, carrying a body, was fired upon in a surprise attack. A woman lost her life, several others sustained serious injuries, and the gunmen escaped.

An hour later on the same day, the Sakare clan retaliated by shooting the driver and his passenger from close range. They reached a nearby hospital but succumbed to their injuries on arrival.

The leadership of the Kunalin and Lyain tribes is urging restraint and for the clans not to resort to violence, police said.

They have also called for the immediate surrender of suspects from both the Mulapin and Sakare tribes to law enforcement.

Investigation into ‘root causes’
Assistant Police Commissioner Joseph Tondop, who is responsible for the state of emergency in Enga, is calling for an investigation into the root causes of the recent conflict.

“This sort of revenge killing is unheard of in the history of tribal conflicts in Enga Province where innocent people unrelated to the conflicts where killed,” he said.

“All tribal clans taking part in the conflicts (Sakars, Mulapian, Kunalins, Myom and people form Kulapi 4 in Porgera) are all under the scope and ordered to refrain from further escalating the situation.”

The investigative teams will start their work immediately, and individuals or groups found to be involved will be apprehended, he said.

“This task force is given strict orders to carry out a thorough investigation, leaving no stone unturned.”

RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in PNG, Scott Waide, said the public was frustrated that police were yet to make arrests.

He said police found it difficult to deal with the clans and arrest people who were armed.

Waide said people were reluctant to give up weapons because it gave them a sense of security in tribal conflicts.

“It is a difficult situation that both lawmakers, citizens and police are in. The longer this drags on and guns are in the hands of ordinary people, killing will continue.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.