Introduction: Roots of conflict in the Southern Highlands

For a number of years the Southern Highlands Province (SHP) has been riven by conflict. Longstanding inter-group rivalries, briefly set aside during the colonial period, have been compounded by competition for the benefits provided by the modern state and by fighting over the distribution of returns from the several big mining and petroleum projects located within the province or impinging upon it.¹ According to some reports, deaths from the various conflicts in the province over the past decade number in the hundreds.² As a result of inter-group fighting, criminal activity, vandalism and politically motivated actions, a number of businesses, banks