Australia sending troops, police to Solomons amid unrest

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the deployment would include a detachment of 23 federal police officers and up to 50 more to provide security at critical infrastructure sites, as well as 43 defense force personnel, a patrol boat and at least five diplomats.
The first personnel were to arrive Thursday night with more going on Friday, and the deployment was expected to last for a few weeks, Morrison said.

``Our purpose here is to provide stability and security,'' he said.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare declared a lockdown Wednesday after about 1,000 people gathered in protest in the capital Honiara demanding his resignation over a host of domestic issues.

Morrison said Sogavare had requested assistance from Australia amid the violence under a bilateral security treaty.
``It is not the Australian government's intention in any way to intervene in the internal affairs of the Solomon Islands. That is for them to resolve,`` he said.``Our presence there does not indicate any position on the internal issues of the Solomon Islands,'' Morrison added.

The protesters breached the National Parliament building and burned the thatched roof of a nearby building, the government said. They also set fire to a police station and other buildings.
``They were intent on destroying our nation and ... the trust that was slowly building among our people,'' the government said in a statement.