Leaders from West Taraka in Papua New Guinea's second largest city, Lae, have demanded a complete removal of Western Highlanders from the area following last week's tribal clash.
The National newspaper reports that the leaders, under the name Hausman, have refused any peace mediation with Western Highlanders.
Last week, the Morobe Provincial Government declared Lae's Taraka suburb a fighting zone after a three-day clash between Western Highlanders and the Menyamya tribe.
The clash left three men dead and more than 15 others injured
Also more than 40 homes, stores and vehicles were torched in the fight which started after drunks assaulted a woman at the West Taraka market.
The Hausman group say Western Highlanders are the cause of many troubles in West Taraka and want them evicted back to their home province.
Meanwhile, about 5-thousand families have taken refuge in the bush around Lae in fear of further ethnic clashes.
