A cease-fire agreement was accepted by nine tribal groups in the Kagua-Erave electorate of Southern Highlands Province after a year of fighting.
The cease-fire ceremony was held over the weekend at Kagua Station and was witnessed by the nine tribal enemies.
The fight at Sugu Valley, which started in February last year, was described as one of the worst fights in the history of the Kagua-Erave people.
The nine neighbouring council wards at Sugu Valley in the Kagua Erave electorate agreed to surrender their arms for peace and normalcy to resume.
It was an emotional event for them to see their faces again after fighting and killing each other in the whole of the year 2019.
The event was facilitated by peace mediators and the elites of Kagua Erave living in Port Moresby, Mt Hagen, and the electorate.
The Sugu Valley fight was started by a group of youths drinking homebrew.
The aftermath of the fight has seen thirty innocent lives lost, school and health centres closed with public servants fleeing for their lives, and houses, businesses and food gardens destroyed.
Many people were also displaced.
The fight also affected more than 30, 000 people of Erave district who were being held at ransom along the highway.
The cease fire agreement is a relief for everyone and for government services to return to the fighting area.
The parties agreed to stop brewing and selling homemade beers, marijuana, and have requested for a police patrol post to be built in the Sugu Valley.
Teachers and health workers are also urged to return for the new school year to start.
By Vasinatta Yama – EM TV News, Mt Hagen
