The ethnic clash this week in Port Moresby city between two groups, one from Goilala in the Central province and the other from Enga province, has left people in fear of more retaliatory attacks between the two groups; however, the police high command has assured that things will be okay. This is because police in the National Capital District (NCD) and the Central province are hard at work to ensure that the murder and arson incident at Waigani in the early hours of Monday morning does not escalate to other parts of the city and the Central province. The Commander of NCD/Central, acting Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Benjamin Turi, has confirmed that police officers from both NCD and Central have been tasked to monitor the command and ensure that nothing like this happens again. He said the investigators are doing their job to firstly identify the deceased, obtain statements from possible eyewitnesses, and create a file that will guide them in further investigations. Commander Turi said the report is sketchy at this time because the Engans and the Goilala's who are involved are yet to come forward to provide statements on what really happened that led to the death and destruction of the market. He also said there are many social media posts regarding this incident that are misleading, which the police are also working to verify and provide updates to the public. He stated he will comment on what really happened when the investigation team collects statements from both sides. He added that police officers in Central are patrolling their areas of operation in Central Province and have confirmed that there are no roadblocks along the Hiritano Highway, contrary to social media posts. He also added that in the city, police units are monitoring possible locations where they think either group may meet to cause trouble in relation to the Waigani killings. Commander Turi said it is an unfortunate situation that has caused many people to suffer, as vendors have lost their food to sell inside the market, and the people who buy from Waigani market now have to travel to other locations to do their buying of fresh garden produce. “I want to assure the public that the situation at Waigani is under control, and my police officers, along with other support units, are hard at work to ensure the city is safe,” Mr. Turi said. “My call now to the city residents is to respect each other. Port Moresby City is Papua New Guinea, and it is not a village where people move around in ethnic groups to harm others and cause trouble in the city.” “We have noted that many people are moving into the city every day, making policing a challenge for us daily,” he said. He further added that the number of unemployed people has increased in the city, which has led to criminal activities. He said police have limited powers to control the movement of these people coming into the city. “I do not want my police officers to correct these unemployed people and get blamed for correcting them because most of them do not know the basic laws on how to respect others who are living in the city. Awareness after awareness is made, but people do not listen; that is why we see people losing lives and properties.” “The incident that started at Waigani involved unemployed people asking a security guard for money, and when they received a negative response, they attacked him, which led to the destruction of properties and lives lost,” Turi said. Commander Turi also commended police officers for their efforts to quickly respond, carry out the investigation, and maintain their presence in the command.