Exiled tribe returns and swept up in renewed fighting

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A subclan that was in exile for 12 years as a result of a family dispute has finally returned and resettled on their own land at Kaip at the border of Jiwaka and Western Highlands Provinces.

The clan after resettling there for four years, retaliated against their neighbouring subclan that forced them out 12 years ago by killing two of their young men and forcing them all to vacate their land. That eventually resulted in a bloody warfare that also claimed the life of a young man from the aggrieved clan.  The body of the lone young man was buried but the two other bodies are at Mt Hagen Provincial Hospital morgue.

The situation warranted police intervention so both Jiwaka and Western Highlands police have been called into the area last week to start negotiating peace. However, the situation is tense with the displaced clan demanding that the bodies of the two men be returned to Kaip village to which the opposing clan objects.

Jiwaka Provincial Police Commander Supt Joseph Tondop told the opposing parties that were gathered in two locations that police intervention is the last resort and that a lasting peace must be established among the two warring factions.

Tondop said the two factions were ignorant and arrogant,  resulting in tribal warfares that eventually claimed the lives of innocent young men. That was unfair and they must put their differences aside and look towards restoring peace and normal life in the area before more innocent people lose lives.

It is understood several peace mediation attempts have been initiated by local leaders and churches alike but all these efforts have been ignored.
“We are giving you time to arrange for peace negotiations after we leave here. And that must be real peace. If you defy these instructions police will move in and do mass arrests,” says Tondop.