In the South Pacific, the government of Papua New Guinea was working on Thursday to restore order after riots and looting which left at least 15 dead in the country’s two largest cities.
The unrest began in the capital, Port Moresby, on Wednesday after hundreds of police, soldiers, prison staff and civil servants walked off the job to demand pay rises.
Rioters then took the opportunity to sow chaos.
Similar riots also caused damage in Lae, the country’s second-largest city.
Since then, calm seems to have returned. An additional 180 troops arrived in Port Moresby on Thursday.
Tensions in the country have increased amid high unemployment and rising costs of living.
Prime Minister James Marape said Port Moresby was “under tension and duress” but that violence had eased.
“The police were not on duty yesterday in the city and people resorted to anarchy – not everyone, but in some areas of our city.”declared the head of government during a press conference. “(This morning’s) situation report shows that tension in the city has eased.”
However, many stores and banking services remained closed as owners repaired the damage.
Located in a strategic area of the South Pacific, Papua New Guinea is a diverse and rapidly developing country, made up mainly of subsistence farmers and where some 800 languages are spoken. With 10 million inhabitants, it is the most populous country in the region after Australia, which has 26 million.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also called for calm. He said his government had not received any requests for help from its closest neighbor.
Papua New Guinea and Australia signed a bilateral security agreement last month. The country is struggling to contain escalating tribal violence and civil unrest in remote areas and has a long-term goal of increasing its police force from 6,000 officers to 26,000.
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