The security forces of Papua New Guinea have arrested 54 villagers on charges of cannibalism and participation in secret religious cults. According to the local newspaper National, the operation is being carried out in the Western Province of this Pacific state.
As TASS clarifies, the operation area is located at the mouth of the Fly River. Over the past six years, since 2009, information has been constantly coming from there about the lawlessness happening there.
First of all, it is everyday cannibalism and the spread of the influence of secret religious cults, practicing ritual beheadings and burning huts, said the police chief of the Western province of Silva Sica.
The operation, which began on 14 August, involves 35 military and police personnel. Silva Sica clarified that it consists of three stages: negotiations, inducement to surrender weapons and, finally, reconciliation of the warring parties. He expressed confidence that the authorities will eventually be able to solve the problem, and peace and security will reign in the now disadvantaged area.
The operation is being carried out in two coastal villages, Damera and Vaidabodolo, which have been closed from the outside world for many decades.
The most notorious crime of recent times was the murder of three residents of neighboring settlements, committed on June 25. According to police, the criminals took the heads of the victims with them in an unknown direction for use in rituals.