[Excerpt: Defence Minister Robert Hill ordered the 100-strong deployment as a show of strength just hours after federal police officer Adam Dunning was murdered in the capital, Honiara - the first Australian death from a shot in anger since the Vietnam War.]
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11763725%255E421,00.html Troops rush to Solomons By Trudy Harris and Tom Richardson December 23, 2004 A CRACK squad of heavily armed combat troops will fly into the Solomon Islands today to reinforce the Australian police officers after a peacekeeper was killed by a sniper while on patrol yesterday. Defence Minister Robert Hill ordered the 100-strong deployment as a show of strength just hours after federal police officer Adam Dunning was murdered in the capital, Honiara - the first Australian death from a shot in anger since the Vietnam War. Senator Hill said the deployment "sends a message to the families of AFP personnel that we intend to protect them and will use Australian military resources to do it". "This will also clearly send a message to the thugs that we and the Government of the Solomon Islands will not tolerate the murder of our police officers," he said. Former soldier Dunning, 26, an Australian Federal Police Protective Services officer, was riding in a four-wheel-drive patrol car in an unsettled part of the capital when a sniper with a high-powered rifle opened fire at 3.10am. Four of six bullets hit the vehicle. Two struck Dunning in the back. AFP commissioner Mick Keelty, who broke the news to Dunning's family yesterday morning, said his death had not been in vain. "The work of the police, not only for the AFP but for the other participating police forces of the Pacific region, has to continue," Mr Keelty said. The former air force defence guard, who served in East Timor, was one of 209 Australians remaining as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands and was due home in January. The multi-nation mission to the Solomons, called Operation Helpem Fren, which at its peak involved 3000 combined defence police and security officers, has brought stability to the island, which had been on verge of chaos last year. Rebels led by islander Harold Keke - who faces trial next month on nine murder charges - have been disarmed, with more than 4000 weapons handed in and 400 police sacked or retired. But pockets of resistance remain, as do suspected high-powered weapons. In October, one man was arrested and charged with attempted murder after a similar sniper attack. Sources said that shooting was also carried out with a high-powered weapon and it was a miracle that neither of the officers was killed. One of the gunmen handed himself into police on December 4 but police are still searching for others involved. The RAMSI force was investigating the killing yesterday, questioning locals and returning to the murder scene to see if anyone had witnessed the shooting. Police were unsure of the militia responsible but played down suggestions it was part of an orchestrated campaign against RAMSI. "I think this is just a small pocket of individuals ... who have a view about policing and the PPF that isn't necessarily one that is agreed by all other members of the Solomon Islands community," said the head of the intervention police force, AFP assistant commissioner Sandi Peisley. The shooting took place in Borderline, not far from its police station - a suburban area of Honiara considered dangerous, with armed militia, before RAMSI arrived. Local police said they had been patrolling the area "to try and calm down" locals who had been drinking and smoking marijuana. Prime Minister John Howard expressed his sorrow at the death and said every effort would be made to find those responsible and bring them to justice. Solomons Prime Minister Allan Kemakeza condemned the attack as a barbaric and cowardly act. Additional reporting: Patricia Karvelas and D.D. McNicoll enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. 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