Villagers return guns to police

 By JAMES APA GUMUNO

VILLAGERS at Lumbi, Imbonggu district, Southern Highlands, returned all five guns belonging to the Mendi police task force unit on Tuesday afternoon.

The firearms were handed over after the ammunition was removed.

Provincial police commander Supt Sibron Papoto said yesterday the Lumbi villagers returned the guns through one of their community leaders when the entire police force from the province went into their area on Tuesday afternoon and demanded the surrender of the the suspects and the firearms.

Papoto said one AR15, three pump action shot guns and a single shot gun were taken from the 10 members of the task force on Monday at Lumbi after villagers set up a roadblock and attacked them.

“I want to appeal to the villagers and their leaders to return all the ammunition removed from the firearms and give them back to me,” Papoto said.

He said firearms without ammunition were useless and therefore he wanted all returned.

Papoto said the ammunition would be used by police to protect properties and lives.

“If these ammunition fall into the hands of criminals, they will use them to carry out criminal activities, take the lives of innocent people or use them in tribal fights,” he said.

He said that some people had illegal firearms and were looking to obtain ammunition, even those from police-issued firearms.

“These ammunition are dangerous for you to keep in your community.

“I want them back, and the sooner the better,” Papoto said.

Papoto said police were in the process of processing 20 suspects from Lumbi arrested on Tuesday over the attack on policemen, damaging a new police vehicle, stealing guns and illegally possessing a vehicle involved in a fatal road accident last Saturday at Kerene near Lumbi.

Meanwhile, the 10 policemen attacked by the villagers are recovering from serious injuries sustained during the incident.

Two of them are admitted at the Mendi General Hospital after sustaining serious injuries.

Papoto said eight were treated for minor injuries and were later discharged.

Papota said his policemen went into Lumbi village on Monday afternoon to relay a message to the people illegally keeping a vehicle involved in an accident that the owner would come and talk to them to try to resolve the problem peacefully.

That was when the villagers decided to fell trees to block the road and then proceded to attack the police contingent.