SOLOMON IS: PM detained in military coup

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LEADER OF SOLOMON ISLANDS LABOR PARTY SAYS PM IS BEING DETAINED

THERE are reports of militant action in Solomon Islands.

The reports include militants setting up roadblocks and seizing installations in and near the capital, Honiara.

The Leader of the Solomon Islands Labor Party says the country's Prime Minister has been held captive since six o'clock this morning as part of a coup unfolding in the capital Honiara.

Joses Tuhanuku, a former Solomon Islands MP who is currently in Canberra, says he was in contact with colleagues in Honiara before phone lines were cut off.

He says the coup was sparked by similar events in Fiji and that he's been told a group calling themselves the Malaita Eagle Force is responsible:

There are two ethnic groups that have been in conflict over land issues, and it's not very clear yet over what the demands are and who may be really responsible, but the little bit I heard from home is that the Prime Minister has been held since 6am.

There has been ongoing unrest in Solomon Islands involving the Malaita Eagle Force and the Isatabu Freedom Fighters.

An estimated 50 people have been killed in 18-months of unrest in the country.

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