Woman killed for sorcery

Villagers in the Papua New Guinea highlands killed a woman accused of sorcery with axes, knives and a shotgun, the AAP news agency reported on Thursday. The agency quoted Chimbu province police commander Superintendent Simon Kauba as saying another suspected witch survived the lynching in the village of Segima. Kauba said the attack was "gruesome and barbaric." The murdered woman, who was accused of causing the death of a boy, was hacked to pieces and her remains thrown into a river. Lynchings are common in the Papua New Guinea highlands and are often linked to allegations of sorcery, belief in which remains widespread. Some tribes in the remote mountainous interior still live in very primitive conditions, Reuters announced.