Mob strips, tortures, and burns alive woman accused of witchcraft in Papua New Guinea

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — A mob stripped, tortured and bound a woman accused of witchcraft, then burned her alive in front of hundreds of horrified witnesses in a Papua New Guinea town.

It was the latest sorcery-related killing in this South Pacific island nation.

Bystanders, including many children, watched and some took photographs of the brutal slaying. 

Grisly pictures were published on the front pages of the country’s two largest newspapers, The National and the Post-Courier, while the prime minister, police and diplomats condemned the killing.

In rural Papua New Guinea, witchcraft is often blamed for unexplained misfortunes. 
Sorcery has traditionally been countered by sorcery, but responses to allegations of witchcraft have become increasingly violent in recent years.