French police kill alleged gunman amid continued unrest in New Caledonia

NEWS WIRES
·1 min read

French police shot and killed an alleged gunman in New Caledonia on Wednesday, bringing the death toll from nearly two months of chaos in the French Pacific territory to 10. The unrest began over plans to expand the electoral roll, which indigenous Kanak people fear would diminish their chances for independence, leading to widespread roadblocks, arson, and looting, and prompting Paris to deploy thousands of troops and police.

French police shot and killed an alleged gunman in New Caledonia on Wednesday, local prosecutors said, bringing the toll of almost two months of unrest in the French Pacific territory to 10.

The suspect was killed during a gun battle in the Mont-Dore district outside New Caledonia's capital Noumea, where police were deployed to clear roadblocks.

When the police came under fire, members of the GIGN elite tactical unit covering the operation shot back, killing the man, a source close to the case told AFP.

A second source familiar with the case said police had been deployed to arrest people behind gun attacks that have become common in the area, only to come under fire themselves as they cleared a major road.

Unrest broke out in mid-May in New Caledonia, almost 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) from Paris, over a planned expansion of the electoral roll that indigenous Kanak people fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their hopes for independence.

(AFP)


Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:
New Caledonia activist jailed in mainland France says he is a 'political prisoner'
Buildings burned and police attacked amid renewed unrest in New Caledonia
French forces launch 'major operation' to open route to New Caledonia's restive capital

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