Seven killed in Sialum over land dispute among villagers

By JIMMY KALEBE
SEVEN people including two children have been killed in the remote Kanome station near Sialum in Tewai-Siassi, Morobe.
Reports reaching Lae over the weekend revealed that a young girl and boy were also killed last Thursday in an attack at Kanome that left a woman and four men dead.
Sialum local level government deputy president Billy Bawentine told The National that five villages were involved in a conflict that stemmed from a land dispute but exacerbated by excessive demands and theft of properties.
Bawentine named the villages as Nanda assisted by Karako with some factions from Kanome village on the one side against Ririwo and Zakupet villages as well as factions from Kanome village.
“The killings of two females and five males last Thursday were from Nanda and Karako villages when they tried to attack Kanome on Thursday,” he said.
Bawentine said several corpses were located with deep arrow wounds, knife wounds. Two men’s bodies were found with bullet and knife wounds.
Due to decomposing, the bodies were buried quickly.
“After the fight at Kanome station, people from Ririwo and Zakupet converged on Sialum station, threatened the staff at the Sialum health centre and later burnt down the former Sialum LLG president’s residence together with his trade store.”
Nunzeng villagers who were taking refuge at Sialum police barracks fled and sought refuge in neighbouring villages surrounding Sialum station.
He said the majority of the public servants in Sialum station now wanted the authorities to ensure police in Sialum are strengthened with a vehicle, firepower and manpower to ease the tension and contain the violence.
He said lives were lost and properties destroyed and they could not continue waiting for assistance.
Meanwhile, reports from police sources in the province stated that a police team was sent yesterday to Sialum to contained the situation, identify suspects and arrest people.