At least 15 people died in riots in various cities of Papua New Guinea

to follow someone peaceful protest Some criminals summoned the day before by police and other security personnel They took advantage of this situation to loot In the capital, Port Moresby, and in the city of Lae, the country’s second most populous city. According to the news of Australian public broadcaster ABC, according to the latest report published by the Lae metropolitan police, eight people died in the capital and seven in Lae.

“The ambulance service received many emergency calls regarding the issue in the capital. shots and injured people in an explosion,” the Saint John Papua New Guinea emergency service emphasized on its Facebook profile.

Showing videos posted on social networks warehouses burst into flames and large crowds began lootingAccording to the local Post-Courier newspaper, the attacks spread to other areas and continued until late at night.

Before the riots, approximately 200 striking police, military and prison officers entered Parliament peacefully during a demonstration to protest the tax increase on civil servant salaries. Looters and opportunists took advantage of the weak security situation to unleash chaos.

At an event with the media this morning, Prime Minister James Marape insisted on asking the public “not to go out into the streets and do whatever they want”, emphasizing: It is imperative for the country to restore security Emphasizing that they will open an investigation to determine responsibilities for what happened. “Yesterday the police were not working in the city and people resorted to anarchy,” he added.

Given the tense environment, On Wednesday, Marape authorized Defense personnel to “assist the police in maintaining order” in the country. Military personnel asked crowds gathered in Lae today to remain calm after blocking the streets and shuttering many official buildings in the city, according to video published by the Post-Courier.

Papua New Guinea, a resource-rich country with much of its twelve million population in extreme poverty, is isolated by communication problems, especially in remote areas where basic health services and education are lacking, as well as security. The country, which became independent from Australia in 1975 and whose government signed a security agreement with Canberra last December that includes financial aid to modernize police forces, also has a long history of political intrigue, corruption and infighting.