Yesterday in Papua New Guinea, a rally of civil servants protesting against salary cuts turned violent, with shops looted and cars and buildings set on fire. The looting led to the deaths of at least 16 people, so on Thursday, Prime Minister James Marape declared a two-week state of emergency in the capital Port Moresby. This was reported by UNN with reference to the New Zealand Herald.
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A state of emergency has been declared in Papua New Guinea amid deadly unrest.
More than 1,000 troops are on standby "to intervene where necessary
After civil servants, including the police and army, went on strike over wages, violence erupted in the evening of January 10, with cars and supermarkets set on fire and looted.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, at least 16 people were killed in the country's capital, Port Moresby, as well as in the city of Le.
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Papua New Guinea, a country of 10 million people, is the most populous country in the South Pacific after Australia. Against the backdrop of his country's economic downturn, which has led to high levels of inflation and unemployment, the government has faced increasing pressure and public outrage from many social groups.
The unrest was sparked after police and other civil servants staged a protest strike outside parliament on Wednesday after discovering that their salaries had been cut by 50% in recent paychecks.
In response, Prime Minister James Marape said the pay cuts were a mistake due to a computer glitch that caused up to $100 (£78) to be deducted from civil servants' salaries. He said the administrative error would be corrected during next month's payments, the BBC reports.
Call for the resignation of the head of government
Six members of parliament have resigned from the Papua New Guinea government. They are Sir Puka Temu, David Arore, James Donald, Maso Hewabi, Keith Iduhu and James Nomane.
Chauve MP James Nomane and Hiri-Koiari MP Keith Iduhu announced their resignations via social media.
Both blamed Prime Minister Marape for the unrest in Port Moresby, which is now spreading to other parts of the country.
Nomane and Iduhu are members of Marape's ruling Pangu party and have called on him to resign.
Iduhu accused Marape of not responding to complaints raised by the PNG police and military.
I join the call of my fellow MPs to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister, who has completely destroyed our social values and well-being
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