Papua New Guinea declares state of emergency after at least 15 people are killed in horror wave of riots as shops and buildings are set ablaze
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister declared a 14-day state of emergency in the capital on Thursday after 15 people were killed in riots when crowds looted and burned shops.
Violence broke out in Port Moresby on Wednesday evening after a group of soldiers, police and prison guards protested over unexplained deductions from their wages.
Within hours, the unrest had also spread to the city of Lae, about 300 kilometers north of the capital.
“Today we are calling for a state of emergency for fourteen days in our country’s capital,” Prime Minister James Marape announced.
More than 1,000 troops were on standby “to control any situations that may arise in the future,” he said.
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister declared a 14-day state of emergency in the capital on Thursday after 15 people were killed in riots when crowds looted and burned shops (pictured)
At least 15 people were killed in the unrest in Port Moresby and Lae, police commissioner David Manning said.
Port Moresby’s main hospital treated 25 people with gunshot wounds and six with bush knife wounds, according to AFP figures.
Video footage shows looters in the capital bursting into stores through broken windows and stuffing stolen goods into cardboard boxes, shopping carts and plastic buckets.
A man was seen carrying an entire chest freezer on his shoulders.
Buildings and cars were set on fire, sending thick plumes of black smoke hanging over the hardest-hit parts of the city.
The US Embassy in Port Moresby said shots were fired near the site as police tried to “disperse groups of looters”.
A smaller crowd earlier gathered outside the prime minister’s office in Port Moresby, tore a security gate off its tracks and set fire to a parked police car.
Beijing has filed a complaint with the government of Papua New Guinea following reports that rioters targeted Chinese-owned businesses.
The Foreign Ministry said two Chinese nationals were “slightly injured” in the violence.
“We remind Chinese nationals in PNG to pay close attention to the evolving security situation on the ground,” ministry spokesman Mao Ning said.
Port Moresby resident Maho Laveil, an economics lecturer at the University of Papua New Guinea, said peace had been “largely restored” on Thursday evening.
“They chased away the looters, they prevented the buildings from burning,” he told AFP.
An aerial view of smoke rising from burning buildings, amid looting and arson during protests over a pay cut for police that officials blamed on an administrative glitch, in Port Moresby
Looters in the capital rush into stores through broken windows and stuff stolen goods into cardboard boxes, shopping carts and plastic buckets
Smoke rises from a fire in a building in Port Moresby after riots broke out that left 15 people dead
National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop said the unrest represented an “unprecedented level of strife” in Port Moresby, while local newspaper Post Courier called it the city’s “darkest day”.
“The most important thing is that we have to end this fight,” Parkop told a local radio station. “Nobody will be the winner in this kind of civil unrest.”
The situation started after security forces staged a protest at the PNG Parliament after noticing their wages had been stopped.
Although the government quickly promised to find a solution to what it described as a “payroll problem,” this was not enough to deter disgruntled citizens from joining the fight.
The Prime Minister said four department heads involved in the pay issue – the heads of human resources and finance, as well as police commissioner David Manning – had all been suspended for 14 days.
The outbreak of violence highlights the often volatile nature of life in Papua New Guinea, a country plagued by poverty and high crime rates.
A map of Papua New Guinea is shown showing the cities of Port Moresby and Lae, with Australia less than 200 km away at the nearest point
A damaged shop is pictured amid a state of unrest in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea
Less than 200 km from Australia’s northernmost border, Papua New Guinea is the largest and most populous state in Melanesia.
Although the country has vast reserves of gas, gold and minerals, human rights organizations estimate that almost 40 percent of its nine million citizens live below the poverty line.
Australia recently signed a security agreement with PNG, pledging to help its expanded police force combat arms trafficking, drug smuggling and tribal violence.
“We continue to urge calm during this difficult time,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Thursday.
People gather in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, amid reports of widespread looting and arson, as police and the public sector protest a pay cut that civil servants blame on a ‘glitch’