New Zealand Mulls Request For Help From Riot-hit Solomons

Wellington, Dec 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Dec, 2021 ) :New Zealand said Wednesday it was "urgently" considering a request for help from the crisis-hit Solomon Islands, where an Australian-led peacekeeping mission deployed last week after deadly anti-government riots.

Officials in Wellington said Honiara submitted a formal request for assistance on Tuesday, and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta spoke with her Solomons counterpart Jeremiah Manele about it overnight.

"The civil unrest and riots in Honiara are deeply concerning, and the New Zealand High Commission there continues to monitor the situation closely," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We welcome the actions of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji in swiftly deploying police and defence personnel." New Zealand media reported that troops were at the Linton military camp in the North Island preparing for deployment.

There are already about 200 peacekeepers from around the region helping maintain law and order in Honiara after three days of rioting left much of the capital in smouldering ruins and claimed at least three lives.

The crisis erupted last Wednesday when protests over government policies turned violent, fuelled by poverty, unemployment and inter-island rivalries in the nation of 800,000.

Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is set to face a no-confidence filed by the opposition on Monday, providing another potential flashpoint for unrest.

New Zealand was part of the last Australian-led peacekeeping mission in the Solomons, which stretched from 2003-17.

Officials in Canberra insist the current deployment will only last "a matter of weeks" and its focus is on policing, not intervening in the Solomons' political situation.