HONIARA: Fiji joined an international peacekeeping force keeping a lid on simmering tensions in the riot-hit Solomon Islands on Monday, as the Red Cross warned of food shortages in the Pacific nation's devastated capital.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama deployed an initial 50 Fijian troops to maintain law and order in the wake of deadly anti-government protests, lifting the number of peacekeepers to about 200 -- mostly Australian with a contribution of at least 34 from Papua New Guinea.
Bainimarama said another 120 troops were on standby if the security situation deteriorated in Honiara, where a massive clean-up was under way after the unrest that claimed at least three lives.
"I also wish to take this moment to convey my thoughts and prayers to our brothers and sisters in Solomon Islands for the turmoil they are currently experiencing," the Fijian leader said.
The Solomons 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.
After trying to storm parliament, mobs ran amok for three days, reducing much of the Chinatown area to smouldering rubble and attempting to torch Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's home. Calm was restored after Australian troops and police rushed to Honiara in response to Sogavare's desperate plea to Canberra for help.
Solomon Islands Red Cross Secretary General Clement Manuri said Honiara was quiet but tense on Monday as residents continued to tidy the streets.
Manuri said food was becoming scarce in the capital and aid agencies were assessing whether they needed to distribute emergency supplies.
"We're having meetings now with the NDMO (National Disaster Management Office)," he said. "It's not clear but soon, in certain crowded places, maybe they'll run out of food." Rioters burned and looted Chinese businesses during the unrest and Manuri said that meant most of the stores where people bought food staples had been destroyed. - AFP
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