A rebel leader accused of killing dozens of people in the Solomon Islands has been urged to surrender by the Pacific nation's senior police chief.
| "The jig's up, Harold! Come out witcher hands up!" |
Speaking in a radio broadcast, police commissioner William Morrell told rebel Harold Keke to give himself up and set free six hostages.
| "Let the hostages go, Harold. It'll be easier on yez!" |
Mr Keke has been operating on the remote Weathercoast of Guadalcanal, resisting truce calls during the four-year civil war. An Australian-led intervention force landed on Thursday to help restore law and order. Mr Keke, who styles himself as a "general" in the Guadalcanal Liberation Front, last week said he welcomed the force's arrival "as long as its first priority is to disarm the militants in Honiara and get rid of corrupt politicians".
| Ummm... Harold? I think you're missing the point of this whole exercise... |
Mr Morrell acknowledged the release of three of nine missionary hostages on the day of the intervention landings, following which there has been no fresh violence. |