[Source: 7News ]
Australia will send police, diplomats and defence personnel to the Solomon Islands to provide stability and security following rioting in the capital Honiara.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the deployment, which is expected to last a few weeks, will include a detachment of 23 Australian Federal Police and up to 50 further AFP officers to provide security at critical infrastructure.
In addition, there will be 43 defence force personnel, a patrol boat and at least five Department of Foreign Affairs personnel.
Two Australian ADF flights will be deployed on Thursday night and a third flight will head off on Friday.
He said police in the Solomons were “stretched” and there were reports of buildings on fire in the centre of Honiara.
All Australian High Commission staff and locally engaged staff have been accounted for.
Mr Morrison said the national security committee of cabinet had met just after he received a formal request for support from Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
Protesters defied a lockdown and set fire to buildings in the capital in a second day of unrest.
