International

64 dead in Papua New Guinea tribal violence

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2024

Charles Flames

486 Views

by Wale Ewedimi

Sixty-four bloodied bodies have been found along a stretch of road in Papua New Guinea’s remote highlands, police said Monday, a gruesome escalation of long-running violence between local warring tribes.

The victims were believed to be tribal fighters who were ambushed by a rival group in the early hours of Sunday.

The incident occurred near the town of Wabag, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby.

The rugged and lawless area has for years been the scene of tit-for-tat mass killings between rival Sikin, Ambulin, Kaekin and other tribesmen.

Graphic police images from the scene showed stripped and bloodied bodies lying by the side of the road and piled up on the back of a flatbed truck.

Some men had limbs hacked and were left naked by the road with beer bottles or cans placed on their chests.

Police on Monday said gunfights were ongoing in nearby valleys and bodies were still being recovered from bushland near the road.

“We believe there are still some bodies… out there in the bush,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Samson Kua said.

Clans have fought each other in Papua New Guinea’s highlands for centuries, but an influx of mercenaries and automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.

Kua said the gunmen had used a veritable armoury, including SLR, AK-47, M4, AR15 and M16 rifles, as well as pump-action shotguns and home-made firearms.

– Mass killings –

The province’s acting police commander Patrick Peka said many of the dead were believed to be mercenaries — men who roam the countryside offering to help tribes settle scores with their rivals.

“The police and government cannot do much when leaders and educated elites supply arms, ammunitions and engage the services of gunmen from other parts of the province,” Peka said.

Papua New Guinea’s government has tried suppression, mediation, gun amnesties and a range of other strategies to control the violence, with little success.

The military had deployed about 100 troops to the area, but their impact has been limited and the security services remain outnumbered and outgunned.

The killings often take place in remote communities, with attackers launching raids or ambushes in revenge for previous attacks.

– ‘Very disturbing’ –

Civilians, including pregnant women and children, have been targeted in the past.

The murders are often extremely violent, with victims hacked with machetes, burned, mutilated or tortured.

Police privately complain that they do not have the resources to do the job, with officers so badly paid that some of the weapons that end up in the hands of the attackers have come from the police force.

Opponents of Prime Minister James Marape’s government on Monday called for more police to be deployed and for the force’s commissioner to resign.

Papua New Guinea’s population has more than doubled since 1980, placing increasing strain on land and resources and deepening tribal rivalries.

Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of neighbouring Australia, on Monday described the incident as “very disturbing”.

“We are providing considerable support, particularly for training police officers and for security in Papua New Guinea,” he told public broadcaster ABC.

“We remain available to provide whatever support we can.”

International

Millions Rushing To Watch Solar Eclipse in Europe

Mainland Europe has not experienced a total solar eclipse for 20 years while Spain has not witnessed one in more than a century.

Published

2 days ago

August 12, 2026

OCHEFA

31 Views

• Solar Eclipse 2026

Millions of people are turning their gaze skywards in the hope of witnessing one of nature’s greatest spectacles, a rare total solar eclipse, as it sweeps over mainland Europe to briefly turn day into night.

The Moon is first expected to blot out the Sun, leaving only the shimmering glow of its outer corona, in Russia’s remote Arctic north, before parts of Greenland and Iceland are enveloped in the arc of its eerie shadow.

Excitement is highest in Spain, where tourists thronged the streets of normally quiet villages to experience the dramatic natural phenomenon as the eclipse’s narrow path cuts across the Iberian Peninsula from the northern Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea in the south.

Mainland Europe has not experienced a total solar eclipse for 20 years while Spain has not witnessed one in more than a century.

Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, however, has not seen a total solar eclipse since 1433.

Supplies of special viewing glasses were in high demand as a partial eclipse will be visible for millions more in most of Europe, Canada, the northern United States and northwest Africa.

However, a total eclipse of the Sun is expected to only be visible in a handful of places.

Credit: EURO NEWS

International

Trump cancels 175,000 visas for violations of public safety

The State Department said its continuous-vetting programme is designed to identify visa holders who violate the conditions attached to their visas, commit crimes, defraud Americans or pose public safety risks.

Published

3 days ago

August 11, 2026

OCHEFA

67 Views

The United States has revoked more than 175,000 visas issued to foreign nationals since President Donald Trump returned to office.

Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2025, when he was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.

The State Department disclosed the figure on Monday, saying most cancellations followed law enforcement encounters involving criminal activity fraud, assault, reckless driving, theft and drug-related offences.

Other cases involved child molestation, fraud, embezzlement and more serious offences including kidnapping, sexual battery, domestic violence and possession of child sexual abuse material.

It stressed that obtaining a US visa does not guarantee permanent permission to enter the country, describing a US visa as a privilege rather than a right.

International

Man jailed for keeping dead mother in freezer to claim £78,000 in benefits

Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.

Published

1 week ago

August 4, 2026

OCHEFA

83 Views

•Christopher Phillips

A 60-year-old man has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison after keeping his late mother’s body in a chest freezer for nearly three years while fraudulently collecting more than £78,000 in her pension and benefits.

Christopher Phillips was jailed by Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after admitting to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his 89-year-old mother, Silvia Phillips, and pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.

The court heard that Phillips concealed his mother’s death after she died on March 8, 2023, by storing her body in a chest freezer in the living room of their home in Porthcawl, Wales.

Prosecutors said he failed to notify the Department for Work and Pensions and Bridgend County Borough Council of her death, allowing her pension and benefits to continue being paid into bank accounts he could access.

Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.

“You continued to collect her prescriptions and misled medical professionals about her whereabouts, lying when enquiries were made about your mother, repeatedly telling medical staff that she did not wish to attend appointments or undergo tests,” the judge said.

(Source: Tribune)