Gunfights between competing tribes in Papua New Guinea claimed the lives of over sixty people

In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, 64 bloodied remains have been discovered, according to police on Monday. Officers also stated that gunfights between opposing tribes are still going on.

The corpses were discovered after what is thought to have been an ambush in the early hours of Sunday, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Samson Kua.

“We believe there are still some bodies… out there in the bush,” he said to AFP.

The event happened close to Wabag, which is a town located 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of Port Moresby, the capital.

Graphic images and videos that claimed to be taken at the site were sent to the police.

They displayed victims who were bleeding and naked, both stacked up on a flatbed truck and left by the side of the road.

It is believed that the episode had something to do with a battle between the tribes of Kaekin, Ambulin, and Sikin.

In Papua New Guinea, Highland tribes have been engaged in bloody conflicts for millennia, but the introduction of automatic weapons has increased the lethality of battles and intensified the cycle of bloodshed.

– Mass murders

According to Kua, the gunmen had employed a real arsenal of weapons, including pump-action shotguns, homemade firearms, SLR, AK-47, M4, AR15, and M16 rifles.

There are reports of combat continuing in a neighboring isolated rural location.

There have been many mass murders in recent years due to the ongoing tribal strife in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The government of Papua New Guinea has attempted—with varying degrees of success—to curb the violence via amnesties, mediation, repression, and other measures.

About one hundred military personnel had been sent to the region, but their influence has been little and the security agencies are still outnumbered and outgunned.

Clansmen often conduct ambushes or raids in retaliation for earlier assaults, leading to the deaths, which often occur in isolated villages.

In the past, targets among the civilian population have included youngsters and expectant mothers.

The victims of these sometimes very gruesome crimes are burnt, disfigured, machete-hacked, or otherwise tormented.

In private, police personnel lament that they lack the means to carry out their duties and that they are paid so little that some of the weapons that tribesmen wind up with are police-issued.

On Monday, those opposed to the administration of Prime Minister James Marape demanded the resignation of the force’s commissioner and the deployment of more police.

Since 1980, the population of Papua New Guinea has more than quadrupled, putting increased pressure on the country’s resources and land while escalating tensions amongst tribes.