Three children are among ten people killed in a brutal attack in Pogera this afternoon (11/03/20).
The men women and children were killed at Suyan village near the Pogera township, the same village where Police constable Timot Kavanmur was killed in January.
Initially, nine people had been confirmed dead. Two victims injured in the attack were taken to Paiam Hospital. However, one of them died late this afternoon bringing the total number of dead to ten.
A member of a peace and good order committee who did not want to be named due to security reasons, told EMTV that the killings happened after midday.
“One of the of the victims is aged between 17 and 18-years-old. Three of the children were shot in the face and could not be clearly identified, their family members will have to identify them later.”
A local Pogera woman who also didn’t want to be identified publicly said Pogera is tense with people afraid to go back to their homes out of fear of being attacked by the associates of the killers.
“The situation has deteriorated over the last two weeks. People from Pogera are being terrorized. Police and the military are here but their numbers are small.
“Those people have been going into our houses, taking money and whatever they want. It’s very scary,” she said.
This is the latest deaths in a string of separate killings which now brings the total number of deaths this month alone to 23.
Locals said the latest killings are a spillover of ongoing clashes between two enemy tribesmen identified as Miape and Okiru from the neighboring Hela province.
According to information supplied to police, their associates were responsible for the deaths 16 women and children massacred in Karita village in Hela province in 2019.
By Scott Waide, EMTV News, Lae
