Tongan soldiers involved in Honiara shooting [1]
Saturday, August 14, 2010 - 15:15. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
TONGAN soldiers in the RAMSI force deployed to the Solomon Islands have shot dead a Honiara local while responding to a drunken brawl, the Solomon Islands police commissioner has alleged.
The AAP news agency reported that two Tongan soldiers from the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) force fired an undisclosed number of shots from semi-automatic weapons when under attack by 50 villagers, who police say were throwing rocks, on Thursday morning, August 12.
In the same report, RAMSI confirmed that a former Solomons police officer in his 30s died from a gunshot wound, while another man suffered only minor injuries and had been released from Honiara hospital.
Solomons caretaker Prime Minister Derek Sikua expressed his sadness over the death during a news conference on Thursday.
Local police called for RAMSI support when attending Titinge village early on Thursday when too much drink and local homebrew sparked a fight between two groups, Solomons Police Commissioner Peter Marshall said.
A group of 50 people then started throwing rocks at the local police, RAMSI police, military troops and three vehicles in a prolonged attack, he said.
"The situation deteriorated, the decision was to move the vehicles out and while they were reversing rocks kept coming towards and on top of the vehicles.
"At that point two Tongan military personnel discharged their weapons," he said.
"It was a very serious situation.
"We've been here for seven years and I'm not aware of any similar circumstance," he said.
"In terms of the rock throwing, apart from significant damage to cars, helmets, visors and shields have been also significantly damaged," he said.