State of emergency takes effect in New Caledonia after four killed in riots
Al Jazeera
Local authorities say five suspects under house arrest as they move to try and restore calm.
France has declared a state of emergency in its Pacific island territory of New Caledonia and deployed police and military reinforcements in an attempt to end days of unrest over Paris’s move to change the rules governing provincial elections.
Three Indigenous Kanak people and a police officer have been killed in violence that erupted on Monday night and has continued despite an overnight curfew. Hundreds have been injured.
The state of emergency came into force at 5am on Thursday (18:00 GMT on Wednesday) and gives the authorities wide powers of search and arrest.
The high commission, which represents the French state in New Caledonia, said in a statement that five people had been placed under house arrest as “alleged sponsors of the violent disturbances” and that more searches would take place “in the coming hours”.
More than 200 “rioters” had been arrested, it added.
