Police arrest dozens amid unrest in Solomon Islands

More than a hundred people were arrested as police found three charred bodies in a store in the Chinatown district.

Forensic teams have launched an investigation and were still on the scene, but the cause of the deaths was unclear. (Reuters)

Solomon Islands police have
found three bodies in a burned-out building, Australian media
said, as police made more than a hundred arrests
following rioting in the South Pacific capital in the past
several days.

Charred bodies were discovered in a store in the Chinatown
district late on Friday, Australia’s national broadcaster ABC
said on Saturday, citing a report from a security guard.

Many of the protesters come from the most populous province
of Malaita, where there is resentment toward the government and
opposition to its 2019 decision to end diplomatic ties with
Taiwan and establish formal links with China.

READ MORE: Solomon Islands’ capital under curfew after three days of riots

Forensic teams have launched an investigation and were still
on the scene, but the cause of the deaths was unclear, ABC
quoted police as saying.

Buildings in the Chinatown neighbourhood were looted and
burnt during the rioting in the capital.

More than a hundred people were arrested for rioting and
looting linked to the current protests, the Royal Solomon
Islands Police Force said in a statement on Saturday.

Rising tension

Local police have been backed up by arrivals from Papua New
Guinea and Australia.

Some 50 officers from the Royal Papua New Guinea
Constabulary arrived in Honiara on Friday, a day after Australia
sent its own forces to the capital, both in response to requests
from the Solomon Islands government.

READ MORE: Buildings set ablaze in Solomon Islands in anti-government protests

“Australia and Papua New Guinea are concerned about the
violent turn that protests have taken in Honiara and jointly
emphasise the importance of resolving tensions peacefully,” said
Papua New Guinea’s minister for foreign affairs Soroi Eoe, and
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

“We are aiming to help restore calm and allow normal
constitutional processes to operate,” they said in a joint
statement on Saturday.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

Police arrest dozens amid unrest in Solomon Islands
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