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| Down Under |
| Soloman Islands Warlord A Key Target |
| 2003-06-26 |
| A crack Australian-led anti-terrorist force will try to quickly kill or capture Solomon Islands warlord Harold Keke. SAS - When you care enough to send the very best. Keke, who is reported to have killed at least 50 people, is believed to be funding his reign of terror using gold bars stolen from a local goldmine and from a crashed aircraft. Sources in the capital Honiara said Keke was being supplied with guns and ammunition by relatives in Bougainville using motorised dinghies. The Australian-led regional force of up to 2000 military personnel and police will be sent to the Solomons Islands in about six weeks to secure the strife-torn nation. More than half the force will be from the Australian army, navy and air force, plus up to 200 federal police or protective services officers. The amphibious command ship HMAS Kanimbla will be the centrepiece of the deployment and will be moored off Honiara. The warship, which is steaming home to Sydney from the Middle East, will carry supplies and provide accommodation for troops. Soldiers and supplies will be flown in using RAAF C-130 Hercules aircraft. Army and navy helicopters will ferry troops and gear to outlying parts of the island nation. The army will provide infantry soldiers, probably from the Townsville-based No. 3 brigade, plus field engineers to establish small base facilities on the ground. New Zealand, Fiji and PNG are expected to send company-sized contributions of about 100 troops each to make up a battalion group under the command of an Australian colonel. New Zealand would also provide naval and air force support. Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer yesterday said the total force would be in the vicinity of a couple of thousand military personnel. Not screwing around, good A senior police source in Honiara said: "They'll really need to nail Keke kwiktaim (quick time) and not let this action become another Afghanistan or Iraq where they missed their key targets like bin Laden and Saddam." Had to get that jab in, didn't you? Mr Downer confirmed that the co-operative intervention force would go after rebel leaders such as Keke. Villagers fleeing the Weathercoast on Guadalcanal told of Keke's brutality when they arrived in Honiara aboard the Solomon's patrol boat Auki on Sunday. One frightened village mother, clutching her children and a few possessions, said Keke had kidnapped dozens of people, including priests from the Melanesian Brothers order. "We were threatened by Keke and his followers who demanded pigs, chickens and other items from us," she said. "We are helpless and vulnerable to aggression because there are no armed police in the area to protect us." Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Laurie Chan confirmed reports that Keke was funding his rebel campaign with stolen gold bars. Mr Chan is in Australia for Monday's crisis meeting of Pacific Island Forum ministers to finalise details of the anti-terrorist force. |
| Posted by:Steve |