After days of riots in the Solomon Islands during which protesters called for Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to resign, set buildings ablaze and looted stores, authorities on Saturday said they had found the bodies of three people in a burnt-out building.
They are the first reported deaths after days of violent protests in Honiara, the nation’s capital. The three burnt bodies were found in the remains of a shop in the Chinatown district, a police spokesperson said. Police were investigating the deaths.
The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force later said more than 100 people had been arrested for rioting and looting linked to the current protests, according to Reuters.
A building burns in Chinatown, in the capital city of Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Friday.Credit:AP
It’s unclear if the deaths are directly linked to the protests, but they come after officials in China urged the Solomon Islands government to protect Chinese citizens and businesses. Honiara’s Chinatown was one of the areas most heavily targeted by protesters.
The decision by the Solomon Islands’ central government to switch its diplomatic relationship from Taiwan to China in 2019 has been identified as one of the driving forces behind the protests, with the move exacerbating social and political fault lines dividing the nation.
On Wednesday, a planned demonstration turned violent as protesters stormed Parliament calling for Sogavare’s resignation. On the streets, they clashed with police officers, who used tear gas and fired shots. Demonstrators burnt down a police station, a high school and numerous buildings in Chinatown. They looted stores and tried to ransack Sogavare’s personal residence before being pushed back by police.
Debris lies on the street outside damaged shops in Chinatown, Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Friday.Credit:AP
As the protests raged, opposition parliamentarians and Daniel Suidani, the premier of Malaita, intensified calls for Sogavare to step down. But he has refused, saying, “If I am removed as prime minister, it will be on the floor of Parliament.”
The Chinese embassy called on Chinese residents in Honiara to shut their businesses and hire security guards, while a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said China was “taking all necessary measures to safeguard the safety and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens and institutions in Solomon Islands.”
Bodies found amid violence in Honiara
Source: Philippines Alive
