Eight dead as major rioting and unrest hit Papua New Guinea

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - PORT MORESBY — At least eight people have died after major rioting and unrest hit Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby.

Shops and cars were set on fire and supermarkets looted after police went on strike over a pay dispute. Hundreds had taken to the streets on Wednesday.

In the aftermath, Prime Minister James Marape addressed the nation saying lawlessness would not be tolerated.

"Breaking the law does not achieve certain outcomes," he told the public on Thursday.

The army has been deployed to restore order and while most of the the riots had died down by Wednesday night, Marape acknowledged: "It's still tense out there".

A local official had earlier said that the looting had largely been carried out by "opportunists".

"We have seen unprecedented level of strife in our city, something that has never happened before in the history of our city and our country," National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop said in a radio address on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.

He had confirmed that "some people sadly lost their life today" though he did not give a number of dead.

The Port Moresby General Hospital had confirmed eight deaths, regional media reported.

The violence had also spread outside the capital - another seven people died in the city of Lae, local police said. The extent of violence in the second-largest city of Papua New Guinea was unclear.

The unrest was triggered after police and other public servants staged a protest strike outside parliament on Wednesday, after discovering their pay had been reduced by up to 50%.

Prime Minister James Marape said up to about $100 (£78) had been deducted from the pay-checks of public servants because of a computer glitch, and the government was not raising taxes as claimed by some protesters.

"Social media picked up on this wrong information, misinformation," said Marape, according to the New York Times, adding that people had taken advantage of police being off the streets.

TV footage showed large crowds and looting across the city. A large shopping centre was among the buildings set on fire.

Ambulance officials said they had attended to several shooting injuries, while the US embassy reported shots near its compound.

The Chinese embassy has also lodged a complaint with the PNG government, saying several Chinese businesses were attacked and a number of Chinese nationals injured — though they did not specify how many.

"The Chinese Embassy in Papua New Guinea has lodged solemn representations with the Papua New Guinea side over the attacks on the Chinese shops," the embassy said on WeChat.

Australia, a neighboring and major security partner for PNG, on Thursday called for calm in the country.

Marape, who met with Australia's leader last month, has yet to ask for peacekeeping help from the country.

Amid an economic slump in his country that has seen higher inflation and unemployment rates, the prime minister has faced increased pressure. The opposition has been working to cast a place a vote of no confidence against him.

Analysts say the unhappiness among the population had led to Wednesday's unrest in the capital, home to about 400,000 people.

"The events of today in Port Moresby [are] manifesting and revealing the inner social and economic pains and suffering of police, military and other public servants of PNG, as well as all workers and ordinary people," PNG Think Tank analyst ​Samson Komati told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. — BBC