DATE=8/9/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SOLOMON / BROKEN CEASE-FIRE (L-O)
NUMBER=2-265278
BYLINE=ALISHA RYU
DATELINE=HONG KONG
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Rebel fighters in the Solomon Islands say they
have launched a major offensive into an area under
rival militia control. As VOA's Alisha Ryu reports,
the rebel advance breaks a four-day old ceasefire that
set territorial boundaries for each side on the main
island of Guadalcanal.
TEXT: Leaders of the Malaitan Eagle rebels say they
have breached the area west of the capital, Honiara,
under the control of the Isatabu militia. The rebels
say they used a bulldozer to break through, burning
houses in outlying villages as they advanced.
It is not known if they encountered any resistance
from the Isatabus, but one Malaitan fighter was
reportedly taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Isatabu says the rebel advance violated the ceasefire
agreement signed on Saturday by leaders of both
militias. The agreement effectively gave each side
areas they could control on Guadalcanal island. But a
rebel spokesman says the ceasefire was not in effect
Wednesday. Malaitan Eagles claim Isatabu fighters
violated the ceasefire first by killing one of their
men Tuesday.
Fighting between the two ethnic groups has been going
on in the Solomon Islands for 19 months, killing at
least 60 people. The rebels, from the nearby Malaita
Island, are angry over the forced expulsion of some 20
thousand Malaitans from Guadalcanal by the indigenous
Isatabus. The Isatabus say the Malaitans are unwanted
because they take away scarce jobs the indigenous
people need. The battle escalated on June 5th when
Malaitan fighters seized the capital, Honiara.
(Signed)
NEB/HK/AR/JO
09-Aug-2000 07:25 AM LOC (09-Aug-2000 1125 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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