3 Dec 2007

Potential violence in Solomon's Chinatown avoided

5:55 am on 3 December 2007

Police in Solomon Islands dealt with a potentially violent situation in Chinatown in Honiara, over the weekend.

That part of the capital was the scene of widespread damage during the riots in April last year.

After a soccer match on Saturday, a large crowd began fighting and throwing rocks and moving towards Chinatown.

The Deputy Commissioner of the local police , Peter Marshall, told the Solomons Island Broadcasting Corporation, that officers were out numbered and had to retreat and call for assistance from their RAMSI counterparts.

Police officers and military response teams from the regional mission in Solomons Islands then managed to bring the situation under control.