Yopo Alliance and the Palinau Alliance-warring tribes in Papua New Guinea negotiated a temporary ceasefire on March 13, agreeing to halt a spiralling series of revenge killings in the country’s remote highlands.
- Fighting between these groups in Papua New Guinea’s central Enga province has escalated in recent months, with as many as 64 tribespersons killed during a single grisly ambush in February 2024.
- Both fighting factions agree to lay down arms and cease and desist from all forms of hostile engagements.
- Highland clans have fought each other in Papua New Guinea for centuries, but an influx of mercenaries and automatic weapons has inflamed the cycle of violence.