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Agence France-Presse

Associated Press

The bodies of three people have been discovered in a burnt-out building in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara, police said on Saturday, the first reported deaths after days of rioting.
More than 100 people were arrested in this week’s violence sparked by concerns about the Pacific nation’s increasing links with China.
Australian media reported the bodies were recovered late on Friday, after riots and protests subsided, in a store in the Chinatown district of Honiara.
Police said forensic teams had launched an investigation and were on the scene but that the cause of the deaths was unclear.

A tense calm returned to the streets of the capital on Saturday, after days of rioting reduced swathes of the city to smouldering ruins.
A handful of petrol stations, shops and other businesses gingerly began to reopen, with Honiara residents flocking to buy basic provisions as the violent unrest ebbed.
Beijing condemns Solomon Islands violence and attacks on Chinese businesses
“The situation is very tense and anything could happen anytime,” said Audrey Awao, a working mother who worried there would soon be no food left in the shops.
What began as a small protest on Wednesday quickly descended into a violent free-for-all, with poor Honiara residents joining anti-government protesters to rampage through the shattered glass and burnt-out remains of businesses for things to eat or sell.

A curfew had been imposed on the restive capital overnight after a third day of violence that saw angry mobs cut through the usually sleepy seaside capital, demanding the removal of prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, whose home came under attack.
Two years of pandemic-induced closed borders have left the already ravaged Solomons economy in tatters, deepening widespread joblessness and poverty among the population of around 700,000.


A nighttime curfew and the presence of roughly 150 foreign peacekeepers from Australia and Papua New Guinea appeared to cool tensions.
Many Solomon Islanders say they believe their government is corrupt and beholden to Beijing and other foreign interests.
“Most people are barely getting one meal a day, there are no tourists and very little economic stimulus,” said Douglas Kelson, chief officer at St John Ambulance Service. “People do things they normally wouldn’t when they are hungry.”
Anger was channelled directly at Sogavare and his government, with mobs attempting to torch parliament and the prime minister’s private residence as police fired tear gas and warning shots.
No one is above the law … respect each other, as well as our visiting friends from abroad
Mostyn Mangau, Solomon Islands police commissioner
Police tried to restore order as commissioner Mostyn Mangau said “no one is above the law,” urging residents to “respect each other, as well as our visiting friends from abroad.”
Mobs had ignored an earlier 36-hour lockdown, with thousands of people – some brandishing axes and knives – roaming through the city’s Chinatown, Point Cruz and business districts, according to correspondents on the scene.
After days of mayhem, large areas of the capital have been left with the scorched-black shells of buildings, while streets are still littered with debris.
Australia rushes troops to Solomons as arson, looting hit Chinatown
“We are living in fear,” said resident Josephine Teakeni. “At the moment it is very hard … children will be missing out from schools, lots of mothers will be jobless.”
In a letter seen by the media, Sogavare told his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape that “certain elements” had “attempted to overthrow a democratically elected government” and called for peacekeepers to be sent for a “period of three to four weeks”.
In an address to the nation, Sogavare told citizens the country had been “brought to its knees” by the rioting, but vowed to resist calls for his resignation.
The pro-Beijing leader claimed foreign powers opposed to his 2019 decision to switch the Solomons’ diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China were behind the disturbances.

But others pointed to inter-island tensions and widespread joblessness among the country’s population, 40 per cent of whom are under 14 years of age.
Critics also blamed the unrest on complaints of a lack of government services and accountability, corruption and Chinese businesses giving jobs to foreigners instead of locals.
The Solomon Islands are about 1,500km (1,000 miles) northeast of Australia. The archipelago nation has for decades endured ethnic and political tensions.

Residents of the populous Malaita province have long complained that their island is neglected by the central government, and divisions intensified when Sogavare recognised Beijing.
His government, meanwhile, has been upset over millions in US aid promised directly to Malaita, rather than through the central government on the largest island of Guadacanal, where Honiara is located. The two islands have been rivals for decades.
China’s government on Friday condemned the violence and vowed to “safeguard the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and institutions”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been following the protests “with concern”, his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. “(Guterres) calls for an end to the violence and the protection of hard-won peacebuilding gains.”


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Solomon Islands unrest: three killed in Honiara’s Chinatown, burnt bodies found

A building burns in the Chinatown area of Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, on Friday. Photo: AP

An aerial view shows burned-out buildings in Honiara’s Chinatown on November 27 after calm returned to the Solomon Islands’ capital following days of rioting that left at least three dead and reduced sections of the city to smouldering ruins. Photo: AFP

Debris lies on the street outside damaged shops in the Chinatown district of Honiara on Friday. Photo: AP

Australian soldiers talking to local residents during a patrol in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara. Photo: Australian Defence Force via AFP

People walk past burnt-out buildings in Honiara’s Chinatown on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Australian soldiers arriving at Honiara airport in the Solomon Islands on 26 November, brought in to help restore order. Police have found three bodies in a burned-out building and made more than a hundred arrests following rioting in the South Pacific capital in recent days. Photo: EPA-EFE via Australian Department of Defence. 

Solomon Islands brings in nighttime curfew in capital Honiara after third day of violence

Flames rise from buildings in Honiara’s Chinatown on Friday. Photo: AFP

A frame grab from video footage shows Australian and local police officers patrol a street in Honiara on Friday. Photo: AFP

A burnt out truck sits in the Chinatown district of Honiara on the Solomon Islands on November 26, 2021, after a third day of violence that saw the prime minister’s home come under attack and swathes of the city reduced to smouldering ruins. Photo: AFP

Flames continue to burn in a building in the Chinatown district of Honiara on the Solomon Islands on November 26, 2021. Photo: AFP

People walk through the Chinatown district of Honiara on the Solomon Islands on November 26, 2021. Photo: AFP

A building burns in Chinatown, Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Friday. Violence receded in the capital of the Solomon Islands, but the government showed no signs of attempting to address the underlying grievances that sparked riots, including concerns of the country’s increasing links with China. Photo: AP

A frame grab from video footage shows Australian Federal Police officers and local police monitoring a crowd in Honiara on November 26, 2021. Photo: AFP

Australia sends peacekeeping force to Solomon Islands as rioters target Honiara’s Chinatown

Rioters torched buildings in the Chinatown district in Honiara on Thursday. Photo: ZFM Radio/AFP

Honiara’s latest spate of civil unrest has resulted in businesses operated by the capital’s Chinese community being looted and burned. Photo: ABC via AP

Smoke billows from a burning store in Honiara. Photo: Georgina Kekea via Reuters

Smoke rises from a building after protesters set it on fire in Honiara on Wednesday. Photo: Jeremy Gwao via AFP

A building burns in Solomon Islands’ Chinatown on November 25, 2021. Photo: Screengrab from video obtained by Reuters

Solomon Islands incident sends out a salient message

A burnt out truck sits in the Chinatown district of Honiara on the Solomon Islands on November 26, 2021, after a third day of violence. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Australasia


The charred bodies were discovered in a burnt-out store in the Chinatown district of capital Honiara, the first reported deaths after days of rioting
A curfew had been imposed on the restive capital overnight after a third day of violence that saw the prime minister’s home come under attack



The charred bodies of three people were discovered in a burnt-out store in the Chinatown district of Solomon Islands capital Honiara, the first reported deaths after days of rioting.


Chinese overseas

Crime

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands unrest: three killed in Honiara’s Chinatown, burnt bodies found

The charred bodies were discovered in a burnt-out store in the Chinatown district of capital Honiara, the first reported deaths after days of rioting A curfew had been imposed on the restive capital overnight after a third day of violence that saw the prime minister’s home come under attack

The charred bodies were discovered in a burnt-out store in the Chinatown district of capital Honiara, the first reported deaths after days of rioting

A curfew had been imposed on the restive capital overnight after a third day of violence that saw the prime minister’s home come under attack