NZ warns Solomons on war brink

The New Zealand foreign minister, Phil Goff, says acute communal tensions in the Solomon Islands have brought the country to the brink of civil war.

He's accused militants from the island of Malaita of going back on a promise to release the prime minister, Bartholemew Ulufa'alu.

Mr Goff said armed men had returned to Mr Ulufa'alu's residence, and that the prime minister feared for his safety.

The Malaitans detained Mr Ulufa'alu and demanded his resignation after they seized the capital, Honiara, on the main island, Guadalcanal.

But the Malaitans dropped their demand after it was agreed parliament would be convened.

The Malaitans hope that parliament will vote for a change in the country's leadership, and that this will resolve their differences with the people of Guadalcanal, which have led to intense clashes. There are unconfirmed of up to a-hundred-and-fifty casualties when a patrol boat controlled by the Malaitans fired on the coast near Honiara.

They say Guadalcanal militiamen in the area were preparing an attack.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service