Amnesty International urged the police service and...

Amnesty International urged the police service and the authorities to halt the spiral of violence and end the suffering and human rights abuses being committed by all parties in the conflict on Guadalcanal. Amnesty added that "Guadalcanal militants, criminal opportunists and Malaitan vigilante groups have been responsible for serious human rights abuses, including hostage-taking, killings, torture, rape, looting and burning down village homes. Police routinely fail to bring perpetrators of such abuses to justice, and permit both armed groups to continue their operations with virtually no risk of arrest. The police are either biased, fear reprisals or are unable to take action. Some elements in the Malaitan-dominated police service have also committed human rights violations and allegations of rape by police officers and extrajudicial executions have not been investigated by the authorities."