Police in Papua New Guinea have detained 180 people after a witch hunt that has left six people dead, including two children.

Several hundred men from Raicoast village in Madang province descended on Sasiko village, looking for people they believed to be sorcerers.

Local media reports say the violent rampage went on for most of Monday this week.

EMTV reports that over 20 people were injured in the attack, with police saying that a three- and a five-year-old were hacked to death, with other victims being beheaded or set alight.

Witnesses say one man killed was an innocent bystander on his way to work, while the two children killed were also caught up inthe violence.

Details of the other victims are unclear but at least one body was badly burned.

Local reports say more than 20 people were injured and several houses destroyed.

Police are urging people to remain calm and for relatives of those killed and injured to refrain from revenge attacks.

The belief in witchcraft is deeply embedded in the country’s culture and tackling is proving a tough problem for PNG’s law-makers.

The horrific torture and burnings of alleged witches in Papua New Guinea have been partly responsible for the introduction of new tougher laws, including five methods of execution for people the courts sentence to death.

Last month the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial and summary executions, Christof Heyns, cautioned Papua New Guinea saying the death penalty is not the answer to the current level of violence in the country.

“I understand that the society is looking for ways to curb the violence it is experiencing, but the death penalty in my view provides a false sense of security.

“More effective policing of violent crime and education are but two of the areas where the focus should lie.”

“There are high levels of violence in PNG. During my visit, I was informed about various types of killings perpetrated in PNG, such as killings related to accusations of sorcery or witchcraft, domestic violence, and killings during tribal fighting.

“But also the lethal consequences of the excessive use of force by the police and sometimes private security forces,” he said.

Meanwhile, 16 men in New Ireland have appeared in court over the death of a man in Namatanai they had accused of practising sorcery.

Provincial police commander Elizah Taksir said the 16 charged with the murder of Eremas Topital appeared for mention at the Kavieng committal court and had been remanded at the Kavieng prison.

Investigators believe that the killing of Topital was allegedly pre-planned by the relatives of three men who died through suspected sorcery.

Police said that the relatives of the three had lodged complaints against Topital at the Namatanai rural police post.

Topial was asleep at his sister’s residence when a group of men allegedly attacked him last month.

More arrests are expected to be made.

In East Sepik town of Wewak, two men are in custody over separate sexual attacks, one allegedly involving a two-year-old.

Provincial police commander Joe Poma said a 22-year-old man was arrested over the alleged attack on the two-year-old in a village in Wewak on March 31.

Poma said the girl was at home with her elder sister when a relative allegedly took her to nearby bushes and assaulted her.

Poma said the villagers were alerted by the cries and screams of the little girl. They immediately took her to hospital where she was examined.

In the second incident, a man from Arin village, Hawain, was arrested for allegedly attacking his teenaged cousin last Sunday.

Poma said the accused had allegedly offered the girl a trip back to the village from town and attacked her on the way.

Meanwhile, Poma said Wewak police would be out in full force to maintain law and order during the long Easter weekend.

Poma urged the people in the province to reflect more on the message of Easter and refrain from causing trouble.

He said those who broke the law would be spending Easter in the police cell.