Tribal warfare has to stop

WHAT can possibly be the justification for slaying of human beings?
Truth is, there is absolutely none!
Tribal warfare especially in the Highlands has taken on a dangerous new meaning and dimension.
Where there was at least respect for lives of people not directly involved in conflict, there is no longer any rule of warfare applicable.
The common criminals running amok with semi-automatic weapons are a sorry excuse for their once disciplined, proud and brave warriors who fought in defence of territory, life and property.
Killings not only in Hela or the Highlands, but also in some coastal areas has gone on as if there is no police and criminal justice system that is capable of mediating in and resolving conflicts amicably.
Days of warriors seeking out and attacking their equal are gone.
Those tribal warriors are today replaced by senseless murderers pre-dating their ancestors in mentality but armed with 21st century weaponry.
That is a horrific combination indeed and a recipe for the violence we are experiencing and hearing of at the moment.
In days gone, it had been warrior versus warrior and never innocent children and women who at times were booty taken alive if at all necessary.
The continued killing of people for the crime of belonging to an enemy clan or tribe should not be allowed to continue.
If permitted to drag on or escalate further, the warfare will certainly affect investments in the province’s rich hydrocarbon resources.
Much is at stake, including of course the ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG project installations in Hela.
About 18 people have been killed with two women and a child among those killed over three days of intensive fighting in the Tagali and Tebi local level governments of Tari-Pori, Hela.
Provincial police commander Chief Insp Teddy Agwi confirmed that 18 lives were lost after a quarrel between two cousins saw one kill the other last Wednesday.
Hela Governor Philip Undialu is talking with the PNG Defence Force for assistance.
Police retrieved six bodies of those who were seeking revenge about a relative who was allegedly killed in Port Moresby on Friday night.
Agwi reported: “They moved into the Tebi LLG with the aim to take a life, however, as they were nearing Mulubi village, the villagers there were ready and in a brief fight, six men were gunned down”.
Women and children have been caught in the battles.
Schools start today and definitely children will be prevented from attending classes; sick people in need of medical attention could not do so; and properties have been destroyed which would take months or years for replacement.
In some parts, there would be food shortages as gardens would have been destroyed as well in the prolonged conflicts.
Lawlessness is said to be on the rise in this country with everyone concerned working overtime to deal with it.
Reports of killings, destruction of properties and violence has been hitting the media in the past months, especially in the Highlands.
The culture of tribal fighting has long been present in that region, a strange preoccupation in an area of such breathtaking landscapes.
Tribal wars have horrific impacts on surrounding communities.
The cycle of violence that has been allowed to drag on for this long does not bode well for investment in the provinces and the country.