SUMMARY

The event leading up to the three days of violence, occurred in July of 2019, when a key Libe Koi tribes member was killed. In response to the killing of Eganada, a number of Oi Kuru members were killed, along with an elderly mother of a leader from the tribe. The killings that subsequently occurred were considered payback for the killing of the mother.

One aspect that makes this conflict stand out from tribal fights that often occur in the highlands of Papua New Guinea is that women and children were targeted and killed, which is unusual. They were both hacked with machetes and shot with high-powered rifles.

The non-state conflict between Oi Kuru and Libe Koi was first included in UCDP data in 2019, which was also the only year the conflict was active. In July of that year violent clashes in terms of shooting and hacking erupted in the Hela province, resulting in over 25 deaths.