Shots stop play in Solomon Islands

A rugby match between crew of a New Zealand Navy frigate and Solomon Islanders had to be abandoned at the weekend after militants went on a shooting spree.

No one was hurt, Wantok Press in the Solomons reported yesterday.

The frigate Te Kaha is in Honiara helping to support peace efforts in the Solomons, where indigenous people of Guadalcanal are clashing with militants from Malaita island.

Wantok Press said players and spectators scrambled for cover when Malaita Eagle Force militants in a vehicle started firing shots indiscriminately into the air.