unrest

The deceased, from Ialibu, was a teacher at Bau Primary School, Madang Province.

Madang MP Bryan Kramer said the man was viciously attacked and killed on Tuesday, April 3, between 8pm and 10pm while his headless body was found the next day along the road.

Following his death, his family members traveled down to Madang to collect the body, insisting on the recovery of the head as well.

This comes after negotiations between the authorities and people from St Louis to calm the situation.

Clean-up operations were abandoned yesterday when a group of young people stole one of the trucks which has now been returned.

On Sunday, clashes between armed youths and police near St Louis left six police officers injured and prompted the authorities to keep the road closed while trying to negotiate a resolution.

The unrest was triggered after police fatally shot a prison escapee from St Louis in the early hours of Saturday.

A boy was killed and around eleven people injured in the shootings in the Tolikara centre of Karubaga, amid unrest in which shops and a small mosque were burnt.

Religious leaders signed a peace treaty following the incident a month ago.

The Jakarta Post reports Papua's police chief Paulus Waterpauw has said closure resulting from the treaty would not last long as it would not be accepted by certain groups.

He says the incident must be legally processed and not just dealt with by customary settlement.