Tribal violence in Papua New Guinea kills at least 26

At least 26 combatants and an unconfirmed number of bystanders were killed in a gun battle between warring tribes in Papua New Guinea, police said Monday.

MELBOURNE, Australia — At least 26 combatants and an unconfirmed number of bystanders were killed in a gun battle between warring tribes in Papua New Guinea, police said Monday.

A tribe, their allies and mercenaries were on their way to attack a neighboring tribe when they were ambushed Sunday in Enga province in the South Pacific nation’s remote highlands, Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Acting Superintendent George Kakas said.

Police Commissioner David Manning later described the clash as a “gun battle between warring tribes.” An unconfirmed number of villagers also were killed. Police reinforcements were sent to the scene of the battle, Manning said.

“At this point, it’s not clear exactly how far we have moved into the conflict there,” Manning told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “But the intent is to regain control or have a significant presence in that conflict area and then work ... our way through our procedures in dealing with this type of incident.”

Kakas initially said 53 combatants had died. But security forces later revised the death toll down to 26.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tribal-violence-papua-new-guinea-kills-least-26-rcna139432

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