New Zealand to send troops to calm unrest in Solomon Islands | Protest News

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has said 65 workers will join the international mission, from Australia, Fiji and New Guinea, already on the ground.

The New Zealand government says it will send dozens of peacekeepers to the Solomon Islands, a country plagued by a crisis following a week of deadly incidents following a call for help.

Following a similar expansion on Wednesday, the move announced by Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea to restore calm, peaceful protests demanding the removal of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare turned violent last week in the capital Honiara.

At least three people were killed this unrest has also reduced much of the city to burning waste.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said the initial force of 15 members of the New Zealand Defense Force and police will be sent to Honia on Thursday to help stabilize the situation, and another 50 will meet over the weekend. He added that security forces will work with Solomon police and 200 peacekeepers in the region who are already on the ground as part of a mission led by Australia.

“We are deeply concerned about the recent civil and incidental incidents in Honia, and following the request of the Solomon Islands Government yesterday, we have gone quickly to provide urgent assistance to restore peace and security,” Ardern said in a statement.

Ardern said New Zealand was well equipped to deal with dangerous situations: “Each implementation carries its own risks and challenges, but our people have extensive experience in the Pacific region and are some of the greatest skills when it comes to escalating conflicts.”

Australian officials have stressed that the deployment will only last “a few weeks” and that their focus is on the police, not on interfering in Solomon’s political situation.

New Zealand participated in another peacekeeping mission led by Australia from 2003 to 2017 at Solomon.

Peace unrest

Peace unrest has prevailed in Honia since Saturday, with residents cleans on the streets, crowds tried to attack the anti-government parliament after days of violence, as well as trying to set fire to a large part of Honiara’s Chinatown and burn down Sogavare’s house.

Observers say the protests have fueled poverty, unemployment and competition between the islands in a nation of 800,000 people.

Tranquility was restored after Australian troops and police responded to a desperate request for help from Sogavare in Canberra, but authorities are still fearful of further violence and aid agencies are worried about food shortages.

Police have arrested more than 100 people and found the remains of three people charred in a burning shop in the Chinatown district on Saturday.

Sogavare said the violence caused $ 200 million ($ 25 million) in damage to the Solomon Islands and destroyed 1,000 jobs in an economy that had already been hit by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

A first estimate of the cost of the uprising released by the Solomon Islands Central Bank this weekend said 56 buildings in the capital had been burned and looted, and many businesses were facing a recovery of more than a year.

Sogavare will face a motion of confidence filed by the opposition on Monday, giving him another point for the unrest.