A senior military official in Papua New Guinea has urged warring tribes to surrender their firearms or face the law at the end of the month.
Photo: AFP
PNG's The National reports Lt Col John Manuai was speaking during the surrender of weapons by a tribe in Hela province at the weekend.
An amnesty is in place in the province for illegal firearms after months of tribal fighting and a build-up of high-powered weapons.
The defence force Joint Task Force Commander said the military would round people up on 28 February if they were still holding onto weapons.
On Saturday, a leader from Kikita Number Two village, Buka Minape, surrendered his high-powered weapons in the presence of police and defence force personnel.
The National reported he then called on his rival John Tipa to bring forward his group's weapons.
The two groups had been fighting for four years over a $US3 million payment for the Tari Airport.
A similar ceremony took place on Friday at North Koroba where the Pumayu tribe handed in their weapons.
The weapons included a factory-made pump action gun and two homemade guns.
