SUMMARY

In 2024, a youth gang called I don't care carried out attacks against civilians in remote areas of East Sepik province. The massacre reportedly had connections to long-standing land disputes between different tribes. Tribal conflict has been a way of life in the highlands of Papua New Guinea where warfare has been an acceptable tool to settle disputes between tribes. Family conflicts have tended to escalate as an attack on one tribesman has been considered an attack on the whole community. The conflicts are often sparked by disputes over land and resources and as the region has seen an influx of modern weapons, these conflicts have become deadlier. The Papua New Guinean police is severely understaffed and many remote areas of the country are outside of central government control.

During a few days in mid-July 2024, the gang I don't care attacked several villages in Angoram district, East Sepik province. Fatality estimates vary between 26 and 63, and hundreds more were displaced. There were also reports of women and girls being raped before they were killed. In August, many of the gang members were arrested or gave themselves up to the police in the district capital, including one of the alleged leaders Jerome Malakai.

I don't care first became active in UCDP data in 2024 when attacks on civilians in East Sepik province in mid-July resulted in more than 25 deaths.