Papua New Guinea police have arrested 19 people for participating in the bloody ethnic clashes that led to the death of 12 people and destruction of over 100 houses in the village of Wau in Morobe province, Morobe Police Commander Superintendent Job Singura said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2022) Papua New Guinea police have arrested 19 people for participating in the bloody ethnic clashes that led to the death of 12 people and destruction of over 100 houses in the village of Wau in Morobe province, Morobe Police Commander Superintendent Job Singura said on Thursday.
"Seventeen of the suspects were arrested on Tuesday. A couple, described as instigators of the fighting, were arrested soon after March 27. They are all believed to have been in the forefront of the fighting," Singura said, as quoted by Papua New Guinea's newspaper National.
According to the commander, the police are interrogating the suspects to establish their role in the bloodshed. Singura said more arrests might take place in the near future.
He also stressed that the situation in the village was under control with a mobile squad of 15 police officers deployed in the area of clashes. Moreover, the local police intend to send a full mobile squad and six investigators to Wau for a month to bring those responsible to justice.
"By the end of the week, police manpower should be effective on the ground to monitor and stabilize the situation," Singura added, as quoted by National.
On March 27, a domestic conflict broke out in the village of Wau in Morobe province and escalated into bloody clashes between various ethnic groups. The police found out that relatives of the conflicting parties armed themselves with firearms and came to the area to participate in the battles.
Bloody conflicts are commonplace in Papua New Guinea. In early April, four teenagers were killed, 20 others were injured as a result of a mass street fight between school students in the area of Mount Hagen.
