Papua New Guinea declares state of emergency after 16 killed in rioting

livemint.com:

Sydney: Papua New Guinea's prime minister declared a state of emergency on Thursday, suspending government and police officials after 16 people were killed in rioting in the Pacific island nation. A police and public sector protest on Wednesday over a pay cut that officials blamed on an administrative glitch descended into lawlessness. Television footage showed thousands of people in the streets of the capital Port Moresby, many of them carrying what appeared to be looted merchandise as black smoke billowed over the city.

Nine people were killed in the rioting in Port Moresby and seven were killed in Lae, in the north of the gold and copper-mining country, Australian state broadcaster ABC reported on Thursday, citing police. Prime Minister James Marape told a press conference he had suspended Papua New Guinea's chief of police and top bureaucrats in the finance and treasury departments while the government conducts a review into the cause of the riots. "There was evidence of organised rioting that took place," he told reporters, adding that the review would ensure "we secure democracy, we secure rule of law." Some 1,000 military personnel were on standby to ward off further unrest, he said.

Violence in the capital subsided on Thursday, with the government flying in extra police to maintain order. The United States embassy in Port Moresby said police had returned to work, but that tensions remained high. "The relative calm can change at a moment's notice," it said in a statement, adding it had received reports of violence in several other areas of the country.