THIRTY people are dead and 15 still missing in a tribal machete battle on Papua New Guinea’s “islands of love” after a war broke out over a football match.
More are said to be injured in what’s being dubbed the worst tribal violence in decades on picturesque Kiriwina Island.
Officials say the dispute was linked to a disagreement between two villages over the country’s general election results in July.
Papua New Guinea‘s deputy opposition leader, Douglas Tomuriesa, who represents the island, has chartered a flight with riot police to quell the violence between the Kulumata and Kuboma villages, according to the Post-Courier.
The row started when rival villagers destroyed a yam garden in Kulumata. When people went to complain to authorities, they were met by a group of angry Kuboma villagers who began attacking them.
Women were forced to flee with their children as men were left behind to fight, it’s been reported.
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Provincial Police Commander Peter Barkie said villagers have been at odds since this year’s general election.
He said locals stormed a government office in the sparsely policed island with cops and church elders struggling to contain the fight.
The Post-Courier said the mass killings in idyllic getaway was “truly horrific” and the death toll the highest “for the wholesale, bloodthirsty slaughter of innocent civilians” seen on the island.
The indigenous population, called Trobrianders, have long been studied for their “sexual exuberance” that involved allowing unmarried youths to have unrestricted sex, according to The Times.
Sex acts are encouraged and villagers have a special hut called “bukumatula” designated for teens and their lovers.
Trobrianders are know to settle disputes over games of cricket.
Earlier this month, 125 people were killed in deadly football riots in neighbouring Indonesia.
Arema FC fans invaded their ground when the team lost 3-2 at home to their bitter derby rivals Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java.
Riot police launched tear gas into the crowds and clubbed supporters with batons in an attempt to gain control.
Harrowing footage showed out-of-control spectators climbing over fences as they tried to escape the smoke.
One eyewitness told the BBC that police had fired numerous tear gas rounds “continuously and fast” when the situation became “tense”.
Pictures of the aftermath showed smashed and burnt-out cars whilst clothes and personal items littered the floor.
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Several news agency reported that the death toll could be as high as 174 but the number was later revised and dropped to 125.
With its horrifying death toll, it’s thought the stampede could be the world’s worst stadium disaster with at least 180 injured, according to cops.
