He219
07-23-2003, 08:40 PM
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The first Australian troops arrive in the Solomon Island's capital Honiara, July 24, 2003, as part of the 2000-strong intervention force consisting of police, troops and support personnel. The force, the largest military deployment in the region since World War Two, has the authority to use 'lethal force' if they are threatened by any resistance in the near-bankrupt and lawless South Pacific nation. *******/David Gray
http://a1112.g.akamai.net/7/1112/492/03312000/news.lycos.com/news/ot_getImage.asp?op=img&id=379644http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39321000/jpg/_39321009_troops_203_index_afp.jpg
Fijian army troops arrive at the airport in the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara Thursday, July 24, 2003. The first wave of an Australian-led international force of 2,000 troops and 300 police began arriving in an airlift early Thursday morning to battle local warlords in this violence-ravaged Pacific Islands state. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
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Two of three released hostages, Alfred Tony (L) and Peter Kesimo, of the Anglican Melanesian Brotherhood of the Church of Melanesia, are welcomed by friends and relatives in the Solomon Island's capital Honiara, July 23, 2003 after they were released by the warlord Harold Keke. Solomons MP Yukio Sato, who returned from meeting Keke on Wednesday, told ******* the rebel leader said he would continue to uphold a ceasefire he announced two weeks ago. But a defiant Keke told an Australian TV reporter he would not surrender and would not give up his weapons, adding he was defending Solomon Islanders' rights against corrupt politicians. Keke also released three of nine hostages he is holding. *******/David Gray
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20030722/i/1058873778.3489685590.jpg
British policeman and Solomon Island's Police Commissioner William Morrell speaks under a hut during a news conference in the capital Honiara, July 22, 2003. An Australian-led 2,000-strong intervention force of police, troops and support personnel will arrive in the near-bankrupt and lawless South Pacific nation on Thusday, with the authority to use 'lethal force' if they are threatened by any resistance. Ethnic fighting and lawlessness has claimed hundreds of lives in the Solomons during the past five years, with traditional beheadings and armed shootouts common, and up to 30,000 people driven from their homes. *******/David Gray
http://a1112.g.akamai.net/7/1112/492/03312000/news.lycos.com/news/ot_getImage.asp?op=img&id=377732
Two armed Australian soldiers walk off the HMAS Manoora shortly before she leaves the north Australian port city of Townsville, Monday, July 21, 2003, stocked with supplies, vehicles and personnel for a military and police mission to the Solomon Islands. The Australian-led intervention force of 2,000 troops and 300 police are on their way help to restore law and order to the troubled South Pacific nation. (AP Photo/Cameron Laird)
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Quick dip : Melanesian children cool off in the tropical waters of Iron Bottom Sound as locals await the arrival of Operation Helpem Fren in Honiara. (AFP/Torsten Blackwood)
More in ******* (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030723/ap_on_re_au_an/solomon_islands_3) and BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3091649.stm)
There is overwhelming public backing for the force, which is called "Operation Helpem Fren" in the pidgin English that loosely unites the 450,000 islanders and their 60 different languages.
The peacekeepers and police will also include contingents from New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Papua New Guinea.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39315000/jpg/_39315963_solomons203.jpghttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39301000/jpg/_39301979_ap_police300.jpghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1245000/images/_1249397_sol-rebels150.jpg
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20030723/i/1059002949.3623944277.jpg
The first Australian troops arrive in the Solomon Island's capital Honiara, July 24, 2003, as part of the 2000-strong intervention force consisting of police, troops and support personnel. The force, the largest military deployment in the region since World War Two, has the authority to use 'lethal force' if they are threatened by any resistance in the near-bankrupt and lawless South Pacific nation. *******/David Gray
http://a1112.g.akamai.net/7/1112/492/03312000/news.lycos.com/news/ot_getImage.asp?op=img&id=379644http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39321000/jpg/_39321009_troops_203_index_afp.jpg
Fijian army troops arrive at the airport in the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara Thursday, July 24, 2003. The first wave of an Australian-led international force of 2,000 troops and 300 police began arriving in an airlift early Thursday morning to battle local warlords in this violence-ravaged Pacific Islands state. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20030723/i/1058964422.3355484243.jpg
Two of three released hostages, Alfred Tony (L) and Peter Kesimo, of the Anglican Melanesian Brotherhood of the Church of Melanesia, are welcomed by friends and relatives in the Solomon Island's capital Honiara, July 23, 2003 after they were released by the warlord Harold Keke. Solomons MP Yukio Sato, who returned from meeting Keke on Wednesday, told ******* the rebel leader said he would continue to uphold a ceasefire he announced two weeks ago. But a defiant Keke told an Australian TV reporter he would not surrender and would not give up his weapons, adding he was defending Solomon Islanders' rights against corrupt politicians. Keke also released three of nine hostages he is holding. *******/David Gray
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20030722/i/1058873778.3489685590.jpg
British policeman and Solomon Island's Police Commissioner William Morrell speaks under a hut during a news conference in the capital Honiara, July 22, 2003. An Australian-led 2,000-strong intervention force of police, troops and support personnel will arrive in the near-bankrupt and lawless South Pacific nation on Thusday, with the authority to use 'lethal force' if they are threatened by any resistance. Ethnic fighting and lawlessness has claimed hundreds of lives in the Solomons during the past five years, with traditional beheadings and armed shootouts common, and up to 30,000 people driven from their homes. *******/David Gray
http://a1112.g.akamai.net/7/1112/492/03312000/news.lycos.com/news/ot_getImage.asp?op=img&id=377732
Two armed Australian soldiers walk off the HMAS Manoora shortly before she leaves the north Australian port city of Townsville, Monday, July 21, 2003, stocked with supplies, vehicles and personnel for a military and police mission to the Solomon Islands. The Australian-led intervention force of 2,000 troops and 300 police are on their way help to restore law and order to the troubled South Pacific nation. (AP Photo/Cameron Laird)
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20030723/capt.sge.jxy43.230703150959.photo00.default-389x268.jpg
Quick dip : Melanesian children cool off in the tropical waters of Iron Bottom Sound as locals await the arrival of Operation Helpem Fren in Honiara. (AFP/Torsten Blackwood)
More in ******* (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030723/ap_on_re_au_an/solomon_islands_3) and BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3091649.stm)
There is overwhelming public backing for the force, which is called "Operation Helpem Fren" in the pidgin English that loosely unites the 450,000 islanders and their 60 different languages.
The peacekeepers and police will also include contingents from New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Papua New Guinea.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39315000/jpg/_39315963_solomons203.jpghttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39301000/jpg/_39301979_ap_police300.jpghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1245000/images/_1249397_sol-rebels150.jpg