Melbourne, Australia — At least 26 people were reportedly killed by a gang in three remote villages in Papua New Guinea north, United Nations and police officials say.
“It was something very terrible… when I approached the area, I saw that there were children, men, women. They were killed by a group of 30 youths,” acting provincial police commander in the South Pacific island nation’s East Sepik province, James Baugen, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp on Friday.
Baugen told ABC that all the houses in the villages had been burned and that the remaining villagers were taking refuge in a police station, too scared to name the perpetrators.
“Some of the bodies abandoned during the night were carried by crocodiles to the swamp. We only saw the place where they were killed. There were severed heads,” Baugen said, adding that the attackers were hiding and that there had been no arrests yet.
U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk said in a statement Wednesday that the attacks occurred on July 16 and 18.
“I am horrified by the shocking outbreak of deadly violence in Papua New Guinea, apparently as a result of a dispute over land and lake ownership and use rights,” Turk said.
Turk said at least 26 people had died, including 16 children.
“This number could rise to more than 50, as local authorities search for missing people. Additionally, more than 200 villagers fled when their houses were burned,” Turk said.
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