A provincial police commander in Papua New Guinea is overseeing a new drive to rein in illegal weapons in Enga.
Photo:
The province is one of PNG's worst hotspots for tribal fighting, where a build-up of high-powered weapons is fuelling ongoing conflict.
Provincial Police Commander Epenes Nili said Engans did not fear dying so much as going to jail.
He said that was why he told his police officers to use their beat to screen the public for all weapons, not just firearms.
"I instructed my men to patrol the streets, stop and search of every vehicle, and effect arrest on every perpetrators who carry bushknives or any weapon that will cause injury to another person, and then this would send a signal to the harder, would-be offenders, so that there is law."
Mr Nili said the new campaign was sending a message to villages throughout Enga that police would not tolerate lawlessness.
While the force is urging Engans to report about illegal firearms in their communities, the police commander admitted that people were reluctant to report about illegal firearms for fear of being shot dead.
According to Mr Nili, tribal warlords were powerful and could exact retribution swiftly in a province where most tribes speak a common language.
"So when one person try to come and report to police and the other one sees him coming to police to report, then automatically the poor fellow who come and report to police will be shot dead that evening."
Mr Nili was encouraging people who wanted to make a report to contact the police by phone - through an awareness campaign publicising his office's number.
