(AP) — French security forces reported another death Saturday in armed clashes in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, the sixth fatality in a nearly a week of violent unrest scorching the archipelago whose indigenous population has long sought independence.
Two other people were seriously injured in the clash, the official said, confirming French media reports. The official said the firefight erupted at a blockade in the north of the main island, at Kaala-Gomen.
Le Monde and other French news outlets said the person killed was a man and that his son was among the injured.
Armed clashes, looting, arson and other mayhem have turned parts of the capital, Noumea, into no-go zones and left a vast trail of destruction. Charred hulks of burned-out cars litter roads, businesses and shops have been ransacked and buildings turned into smoking ruins, with fires sending billowing clouds of smoke into the South Pacific skies.
Despite a state of emergency imposed on the archipelago by the government in Paris and hundreds of reinforcements for security services that lost control of some neighborhoods, residents say violence continues to make venturing out perilous. Protesters have blockaded roads with barricades, as have residents banding together to protect their homes, neighborhoods and livelihoods.
Noumea’s mayor, Sonia Lagarde, said Saturday that while overnight violence has eased somewhat, with a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew in effect, “we are far from a return to normal.”
“The situation is not improving – quite the contrary – despite all the appeals for calm,” she said, describing Noumea as “under siege.”
The state of emergency gives authorities greater powers to tackle violent protesters, including the possibility of house detention for people deemed a threat to public order and expanded powers to conduct searches, seize weapons and restrict movements, with possible jail time for violators. The last time France imposed such measures on one of its overseas territories was in 1985, also in New Caledonia, the Interior Ministry said.
There have been decades of tensions on the archipelago between Indigenous Kanaks seeking independence and descendants of colonizers who want to remain part of France.
Opponents say the measure will benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize indigenous Kanak people. They once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination. The vast archipelago of about 270,000 people east of Australia is 10 time zones ahead of Paris.
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