A state of emergency has been declared in Papua New Guinea’s capital after at least 15 people were killed in rioting.
More than 1,000 troops are on standby “to step in wherever necessary”, Prime Minister James Marape said on Thursday.
Shops and cars were torched and supermarkets looted after police went on strike on Wednesday over a pay cut the authorities say was a mistake.
The unrest follows wider tensions in the Pacific Island nation over rising costs and high unemployment.
“Breaking the law does not achieve certain outcomes,” Mr Marape said in a national address. He announced the state of emergency in Port Moresby would last for 14 days.
While most of the violence had been curbed by Wednesday evening, after soldiers were deployed and police resumed duty, the prime minister acknowledged that the situation was “still tense”.
The Port Moresby General Hospital confirmed eight deaths in the capital, while another seven people were reported to have died in the city of Lae, PNG’s second largest.
Credit: bbc.com
