PARIS, Sept 19 (Askume) – Noumea police killed one man in an overnight operation in the French territory of New Caledonia amid unrest between indigenous Kanaks and French loyalists, the prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
The killings bring to 13 the death toll on the Pacific island since the crisis sparked by the suspension of controversial voting reforms in June.
The statement said the incident took place in Saint Louis, an independence movement stronghold south of Noumea, and that police were searching for about a dozen people suspected of taking part in armed robberies and attacks on security forces.
Reports said that after security forces were threatened by a group of armed men, a gendarme opened fire, killing two of them.
The pro-independence Kanak Democratic Front said both men were Kanaks.
Kanaks fear the reform will dilute their vote and make it harder to pass independence referendums in the future, while Paris says the measure is needed to improve democracy by allowing more French residents to vote.
In June, President Macron suspended reform plans, but violence continued in the major nickel-producing region.
Urban violence in Martinique
Separately, the head of the French overseas territory of Martinique said on Wednesday he had imposed a nighttime curfew to restrict movement in some areas of Fort-de-France and Lamentin due to violence that rocked the Caribbean island this month.
The statement said that there will be a curfew from 9 pm to 5 am from September 18 to September 23 during the protest against inflation.
Meanwhile, newly-elected French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was appointed on September 5 after two months of political chaos following snap legislative elections, but has yet to form a new government.
