Security in the Nation’s Capital city of Port Moresby has been beefed up this afternoon with support from the Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF) contingent from the First Royal Pacific Island Regiment (1RPIR) based at the Taurama Barracks following unrests in the city today caused by opportunists.
National Capital District (NCD) and Central Province Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Anthony Wagambie Jnr, confirmed the support from the defence force in a press conference this afternoon.
He said they will assist police with security for the counting venues following the rampage today by opportunists in parts of the city.
“There will be roadblocks placed in certain locations to monitor the movement of people and search for any offensive weapons.”
“We will continue with our police operations, and we are thankful that the PNG Defense Force and the CS (Correction Service) have come on board.”
Wagambie added that the additional security support will provide security at the counting venues to ensure counting continues and to allow police to concentrate on public safety.
“We will also have police our police response units back on the streets so that we have police visible all over the city to give that confidence to our people to move around freely and to quickly attend to incidents.”
Wagambie also said that the rampage in the city today was caused by social media posts exaggerating minor incidents in the city and suggestion that these incidents had connections to the confrontation between supporters of candidates on Sunday that went viral on social media.
He said these incidents today were attended to by police and resolved, but opportunists took advantage of the confusion caused by certain posts on social and went on rampage in some parts on the city, but police did manage to put a stop to it all before midday.
Nonetheless, Wagambi urged the public to be careful and be mindful of their surroundings, especially at this time.
Meanwhile, there will be no curfew tonight and onwards as there is enough personnel from the three disciplinary organizations to provide security and secure normalcy in the city for resident, business houses and international organizations based in the capital city.