Four people were shot dead in an early morning raid here Sunday, authorities confirmed.
Western State Police Commander Aloysius Ora said the four were victims of a shoot-out at a Gizo hotel compound.
The dead included two members of the rebel Bougainvillian Revolutionary Army (BRA) known only as Pari and Ivan and two Solomons nationals -- Ian Chapangi of Guadalcanal and Brian Zama of the Western Solomons.
The deceased were partying with friends in one of the hotel rooms when they were surrounded by other BRA members who ordered them to surrender their arms at about 12:30am (1330 GMT Saturday).
But the operation got out of hand when the deceased resisted and their leader, known as Cornelious, escaped.
After interviewing the BRA members who carried out the raid, police said the operation was intended to disarm members who had been engaged in criminal activities in the Western Solomons.
The raid was intended to disarm them and transport them back to Bougainville for court martial by their central commander.
Gizo, the administrative town of the Western Solomons, shares a maritime border with the Papua New Guinea Island of Bougainville, scene of a decade-long civil war which ended three years ago.
Gizo hospital officials confirmed the dead and revealed that one woman had been also admitted and received treatment for bullet wounds.
According to police, the rebellious members were warned by their central Bougainville commander to return home a fortnight ago but they defied him.
The escalation of the ethnic conflict in the Solomons island of Guadalcanal between the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) and Isatabu Freedom Movement has forced many people to flee to the Western Solomons.
The population of Gizo has swollen from about 4,000 to about 8,000 since the MEF coup on June 5.
The MEF coup led the BRA, who had ethnic ties with the people of Western Solomons to enter the state and act as protectors.
But the BRA operation, code-named Black Shark, took a negative twist when members, mostly South Bougainvillians, engaged in criminal activities.
A request by Western Solomons community, state and national leaders led to the BRA central commander in Bougainville recalling members of Black Shark.
A few defied the order and remained in the Western Solomons, with most in Gizo -- GIZO (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
