Police in Solomon Islands have dismissed reports that recent burning of homes in Guadalcanal Province is the beginning of more civil unrest.
Three houses belonging to Malaitan settlers were burnt to the ground, sparking suggestions Guadalcanal Province is preparing to start another time of social unrest.
But our correspondent Dorothy Wickham says police have moved to quash those reports saying the cause was an internal family matter in the settlement.
"It was getting pretty worrying because the rumors had really spread. As you know, we've just come out of an ethnic related crisis, so it was very wise of the police to quickly nab the rumours before it really got out of hand. There was a lot of suspicion, and there always will be for a while, about this sort thing, especially when it comes to burning and destroying of property, that's what happened during the crisis."
Dorothy Wickham says police say the cause of the tension was the alleged abuse of a young girl.
