Mothers resort to killing male babies to end Papua strife

GOROKA: Mothers in remote regions of Papua New Guinea say they have resorted to killing their male infants as a way to end constant tribal warfare. Two women from the country’s Eastern Highlands told a local newspaper local mothers from rival tribes had agreed to kill all baby boys born in the last 10 years in a bid to end more than 20 years of inter-tribal warfare, The Times of London reported Monday.

The mothers, Rona Luke and Kipiyona Belas, reportedly told attendees at a peace and reconciliation meeting aimed at resolving the conflicts in Goroka, the capital of the Eastern Highlands, that the male babies have been smothered at birth to force an end to the tribal wars.

“The women have really been forced into it as it’s the only means available to them as women to bring an end to the terrible fights that have brought death and destruction to our villages for the past 20 years,” Luke told Papua New Guinea’s national newspaper.

“The women have had enough of men bringing misery to them.”