More deaths from tribal fighting in PNG's Tari

7:10 pm on 5 April 2018

Three more people have been killed this morning in fighting in the capital of Papua New Guinea's Hela province, police say.

Tari, Papua New Guinea.

Tari has been the focal point of a recent surge in fighting between tribes. Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades

Tari has been the focal point of a recent surge in fighting between tribes.

While tribal warfare has plagued Tari for decades, lawlessness has spiralled dramatically after February's magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Hela caused large scale displacement in the region.

In the past three weeks, several people have been killed and a number of women gang-raped in the Tari area.

The acting provincial police commander Thomas Levongo said tribal warfare caused more carnage today.

"We have a big fight going on all around us in Tari, around its town area. This morning they killed one woman and two men."

Thomas Levongo said police lacked manpower to control the tribes, which are armed with high-powered weapons.

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