Crocodiles a problem in gun-free Solomon Islands

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HUNTED: RAMSI police officers Andrew Prior and Cameron Wells with village elder Paul Takasi and the community of Ulubala, near Atoifi, with one of the crocodiles they destroyed over the weekend.

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Peace in the once troubled Solomon Islands is having a tragic side-effect as crocodiles are attacking unarmed villagers.

As a result the international police force in the Pacific nation has gone crocodile hunting and in the last couple of days has killed 11.

The country suffered ethnic conflict in the late 1990s on its main island of Guadalcanal which only ended in 2003 with the military Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and the Participating Police Force (PPF) which includes up to 30 New Zealand police.

Under the peace deal most Solomon Islanders surrendered their fire arms - leaving them vulnerable to crocodiles.

Last week on the Russell Islands a 10-year-old girl was taken and killed by a crocodile.

PPF over the weekend sent armed police in to deal with the crocodiles in two separate provinces.

The Commander of the PPF, Denis McDermott, said that he was very satisfied with the success of the teams.

"These are highly trained and skilled officers. I'm sure I speak for all of them when I say that RAMSI is very pleased to be able to help protect the people of Solomon Islands in this way."

The second team, which was dispatched to Atoifi, shot and killed a 2.8m crocodile near the community of Ulubala.

RAMSI has promised to destroy crocodiles threatening villages.

- © Fairfax NZ News