Lack of funding ends Hela security operation

THE joint police and military operation in Hela Province ends tomorrow due to lack of funding.

The operation which ran for two weeks resulted with the arrest of 145 men from Dauli, Linapini, Angore and Paipeli areas which were involved in the tribal fights. Most of them were released on police bail.

Hela Provincial Police commander Mark Yangen yesterday said a K650,000 funding from the provincial government was exhausted in allowances, fuel, food, accommodation and other expenses in the operation which involved 300 police and military personnel.

Yesterday morning, 15 men were arrested in Dauli and charged for possessing illegal firearms. A factory made pump action was confiscated along with a number of homemade guns.

Superintendent Yangen said since the operation began, the whole of Komo-Margarima and Tari-Pori electorates were very quiet with most of the villages at war deserted after security forces made the first dawn raid last week.

"Its very quite in the fighting areas. Most of the villages are empty. The 12 fighting locations have been quiet since the operation started," he said.

The PPC clarified that a K2 million mentioned in the media as security operations funds was misleading as the provincial government gave only K650,000.

Mt Hagen-based police mobile squad 05 was the only outside contingent to have been deployed for the operation while the rest of the officers were locals as well as those providing security services for the LNG project.

Supt Yangen said warring factions in Magarima agreed to surrender their firearms and other weapons to police on Saturday.

Nobody came in with some of those suspects in the fights.

"We call on those with firearms to surrender them and they can free. If we catch them, they will be penalised," he said.

Tari-Pori and Komo- Margarima were declared fighting zones with 12 different battles erupting.

The PPC appealed to the Government to provide funding to extend the operation to ensure the end to the fights last and do not erupt when the operation ends. PNG Today/Post Courier