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Overview
As Papua New Guinea approached its national general elections, outbreaks of violence erupted in parts of the Highlands region. Enga, Hela and the Southern Highlands are the worst affected provinces. Since May, thousands of conflict-affected people, many of them women and children, fled their homes and schools and health facilities were shut down. Whole districts were cut off from the movement of goods, services and people. Due to the ongoing insecurity, joint needs assessments cannot currently be conducted on the ground. The number of people killed is estimated to be in the hundreds, with tens of thousands of people displaced. Churches, considered safe havens, are hosting displaced people (mainly women and children) in the three conflict-affected provinces. As the violence continued, humanitarian partners relocated staff to Mt Hagen in the Western Highlands.
14,000 people displaced
According to the latest information from the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, close to 14,000 people are confirmed as displaced across 78 locations in Hela and the Southern Highlands. The numbers are likely much higher, as information was unavailable for many areas, especially in Enga, due to insecurity. The highest number of displaced people in assessed areas are sheltering in Wapulaka village in Komo-Margarima District and Mongoro village in Nipa-Kutubu District.
Following a UNDSS assessment mission, as of 29 August, UN agencies are now cleared to resume operations in Tari, Hela, and Mendi, Southern Highlands. Margarima, Hela, and Nipa, Southern Highlands, will be assessed this week. All conflict-affected districts in Enga are currently no-go areas. Movement north of Wabag is extremely restrictive and the government have provided guidelines for all humanitarian operations in Enga. Police escorts must be used and will provide protection during relief distributions.