Dozens of local councillors from a district in Papua New Guinea's Western Highlands Province have signed traditional rules for tribal fighting into law.

From prohibiting the destruction of public property to refraining from rape, the rules set out a general guideline on how battles should be fought.

The rules were signed in the presence of hundreds of people in Tambul-Nebilyer district last week, making it a first of its kind in PNG.

The local law was drafted with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross, whose deputy head of mission in PNG, Ahmad Hallak, was at the signing ceremony.