At least 18 people have been killed in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea, an area plagued by ongoing violence between local tribes, and where a state of emergency was declared on Thursday by the Prime Minister James Marape.

According to local police chief George Kakas, 13 men and 5 women were killed on Tuesday near the mining town of Porgera in Enga province. The victims were apparently attacked with machetes and axes, he said.

This jungle-covered region is often the scene of violent clashes between tribes fighting over land or natural resources, which sometimes escalate into mass killings.

"We have brought in army and police reinforcements not only for Porgera but also for other places", declared the Prime Minister, according to whom this violence is not linked to the legislative elections which are currently taking place in the country.