22 Sep 2003

No reported sightings of illegal weapons since end of Solomons amnesty

4:28 pm on 22 September 2003

The head of the Australian-led intervention force in Solomon Islands, Nick Warner, says since the weapons amnesty ended a month ago, there has been no reported sighting of any illegal guns.

Nick Warner says since August the 21st some weapons have been collected but there have been no arrests.

Anyone found in possession of a banned weapons faces a ten-year jail term.

Mr Warner says while many weapons have been surrendered, an unknown quantity is still in circulation.

"Clearly there are some high powered military weapons out there, whether they are in working order, whether they are in the hands of people who are planning to use them against us at some time in the future, whether they are just being cached for, if I could put it this way, defense purposes I just don't know."

Nick Warner, the head of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands