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Violence
breaks out in Solomon Islands |
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June 7, 2000
WELLINGTON,
JUNE 6 (AP) - Fighting broke out Tuesday between rival
rebels in the Solomon Islands, the tiny nation thrown into crisis when
armed men seized the prime minister on Monday and One
fight involved about 1,000 people was reported near Henderson Field,
the airport outside the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara, on the main
island of Guadalcanal, according to a New Zealand The fighting had died down after a couple of hours and although New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff characterized it as "more of a skirmish than a battle" with only four people known to have been wounded, he was worried about an unstable situation. "It is a clear warning that things could get much worse quite quickly," Goff told The Associated Press by telephone. A
journalist reached by telephone in the Solomon Islands said fighting
had broken out both east and west of Honiara. The journalist spoke to The
Associated Press only on condition his name not be used. The area around the airport, which is 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) outside of Honiara, has been a front line in fighting between two rebel groups, migrants from the nearby island of Malaita and indigenous Isatabu people who want them to leave Guadalcanal.
Earlier
Tuesday, the government caucus of the Solomon Islands had reconvened
a meeting at which officials were expected to vote on a motion that could
oust Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu from Ulufa'alu had offered last week to resign as his support dwindled, but the necessary government meeting never took place because officials from around the sprawling island nation did not arrive on time. Ulufa'alu showed up at Tuesday's meeting, accompanied by two armed rebels who were guarding him, but he told a reporter for the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Co. "I'm all right," according to a story placed on the broadcaster's Internet site. New Zealand diplomats in Honiara were trying to broker conciliatory talks, but information out of the Solomon Islands was scarce because telephone and air links had been cut off after a series of rebel raids on Monday. Telephone services had been restored by Tuesday afternoon, however. A spokesman for the rebels, lawyer Andrew Nori, who has been identified in some reports as the attempted coup leader, told a Solomon Islands radio station on Monday that Ulufa'alu was being held at home in "protective custody" after being captured by six gunmen from a shadowy group known as the Malaita Eagle Force. Goff said that Nori had given Ulufa'alu until late Wednesday afternoon to resign but it was not known what would happen if Ulufa'alu refuses. But Goff hinted the Solomon Islands could be in trouble if the rebels force Ulufa'alu out. "The international community will not accept a democratically elected prime minister being forced out of office at gunpoint," Goff said. In
the Solomons, the Malaita Eagle Force and the Isatabu Freedom Movement
rebel groups have been fighting for 18 months on Guadalcanal - the scene
of a fierce battle between U.S. and Japanese The Solomons are 3,600 kilometers (2,230 miles) northwest of Wellington and 2,575 kilometers (1,600 miles) northeast of Sydney, Australia. The Isatabu force has been fighting to push thousands of migrants from the nearby island of Malaita off of Guadalcanal. The capital Honiara is largely populated by Malaitans, including Ulufa'alu - who is viewed by some as a turncoat. The Malaita rebels are resisting the Isatabu's effort, and at least 50 people have been killed or left missing in the fighting and 20,000 forced to flee their homes. The
Malaita rebels had at least four of their men wounded in Tuesday's
fighting and they were brought to hospitals in Honiara, the Solomon
Islands journalist said.
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