Slingshots and metal darts see tribal violence ‘horrors’ worsen in Papua New Guinea

Police in East Sepik, Papua New Guinea, hold metal darts used in wire catapults, after deadly violence in the province last month. Photograph: Police in East Sepik, Papua New Guinea

The spread of slingshot-style weapons that shoot metal darts has worsened violence and led to a rise in traumatic injuries in Papua New Guinea’s north-eastern East Sepik province, authorities and medical officials said in the wake of attacks in the area that left dozens dead.

Last month, attacks by young men on three remote villages in East Sepik’s Angoram district killed at least 26 people including women and children, though estimates of the total number killed have varied.