PNG tribal warfare kills two children, a heavily pregnant woman

Two children and a heavily pregnant woman were among eleven people killed in a fight between two warring tribes in a remote Papua New Guinea jungle, local media reported late Thursday.

It is understood powered guns were used to attack jungle villages only accessible by helicopter in Western Highlands province, destroying a school and health center.

Many were reported to be injured.

Local authorities said they were struggling to stop the slaughter among the Kukurin and Yapetalin tribes due to the area's isolation.

"I'm bringing this bloody tribal fight to the attention of the general public because it is taking place in a very remote part of our country which is only accessible by helicopter and nothing is being done to stop the loss of innocent lives," Western Highlands police commander Superintendent Martin Lakari said.

"That is why law enforcing agencies have not done much and now the fighting has reached Western Highlands where the Kokowa primary school and health center in the Ruti Ukuni Maiwa area of Baiyer district have been completely destroyed."

It is reported the Kukrin tribe retaliated after five of their members were killed in June, killing six from the Yapetalin tribe.

It is not clear what has sparked the tribal war, however it is believed the tribes have been fighting for 30 years "with a huge male population wiped out and increased numbers of females in both tribes," the PNG Post-Courier reported.

PNG is a sprawling jungle nation where many still live traditional tribal and subsistence lives in remote areas. Endi