Four killed in tribal fight

National

By PETER WARI
FOUR died in a tribal fight at Komo in Hela over the weekend, police said.
They said police moved in quickly to protect government properties and services.
Hela acting police commander Inspector Kenzley Silas told The National that the tribal fight was continuing but police could only look after the Komo Station government properties.
Silas, who went to Komo with a police team yesterday, said he could not establish the reasons why there was fighting and which two warring tribes were involved.
“We could do nothing. We have limited manpower and logistic support, that is why we are only providing security for government properties,” he said.
“Both warring tribes have lost two men each and we could not get further details because fighting is intense and powerful weapons are used.
“There are tribal fights going on everywhere in Hela and we need manpower and support and our continuous call for support has fallen on deaf ears.
“We cannot continue to risk our lives when we are doing more to combat law and order issues in the province and we receive no support from the Government.”
Silas said Government and Hela leaders should step in and support police.
He said there would be more deaths if nothing was done to support the work of police.
“Police in Hela lack manpower, have housing problems and need logistics support to perform their duty effectively,” Silas said.
“Though we have these problems, we continue to execute our duties but the fight at Komo is very violent and need the intervention of the Government and Hela leaders.”
Silas said there were other ongoing tribal fights in the province that needed a strong police presence.
Warring tribes from Komo often used the Komo airfield as battlefield and kill each other but police managed to chase them out yesterday.