Melbourne, Feb 19 (AP) Police have said that 53 men were massacred in tribal violence in Papua New Guinea, Australian state media reported on Monday.

The men were shot dead in an ambush in Enga province in the remote highlands region of the South Pacific island nation, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

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Police in the capital of Port Moresby did not immediately respond to the AP's request for confirmation.

The massacre was a major escalation in ongoing tribal violence in the region.

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Images had emerged of bodies being loaded onto a police truck, ABC reported.

It was not clear from the report when the massacre took place. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)