Stone fight takes over Mendi

By YVONNE HAIP
BUSINESS came to a standstill in the Southern Highlands capital, Mendi, last Friday when youths took control of the town through a fierce stone fight.
Police were helpless and could not contain the fight as they were outnumbered, immobile and inadequately armed to contain the three-hour fight which began after 2pm.
Business houses, shopping centres, postal services and banks closed early, while the general public, including mothers and their children, sought refuge at the Mendi police station backyard.
Light aircraft at the Mendi airport were quickly moved into their hangars as the tarmac was later the scene of the violent clash between the two warring factions, which were
mainly those involved in the informal sector in town.
The fight, which is not the first of its kind, has left business houses weighing their options whether to
remain in the province.
Police said the riot started after five drunken youths from a settlement in town failed to pay for a cigarette sold by youths from Tubiri who live on the fringes of town.
The fight began at the main bus stop in town, where the Tubiri youths were doing their sales, and escalated into an all-out riot as youths took sides and fought along Magani.
The fight later spilled into the airstrip and lasted for an hour before community leaders and off-duty probationary constables were called in to stop the fight.
Police dispersed the rowdy youths and opportunists by firing several warning shots and eventually calmed the situation.
Four policemen sustained serious injuries during the event and were later treated and admitted at the Mendi General hospital, while youths on both sides also got injured.
Police said they could not do much as they were “outnumbered” after the task
force unit was deployed
on Jan 18 to contain an ongoing tribal fight in upper Mendi.
They were also “inadequately armed” as there was no stock of ammunition, including gas canisters and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd and contain the situation.
Police vehicles had also been grounded since Jan 10 due to fuel problems, and it was now the fifth week where police have been immobile due to the non-payment of bills totaling K278,891 to the AMK Service Station.
Provincial disaster and emergency relief coordinator Martin Pat said such riots were threatening businesses and was not good for a province that was struggling to get back on track.
He called on the provincial administration to look into this and fully fund
the provinces total liquor
ban and address the issue
of the informal sector in town.
With the province having a history of failed elections, he called on acting highlands divisional commander Chief Supt Teddy Tei and police commissioner Tom Kulunga to fully equip and fund police operations in the province.