Solomons rebels offered compensation

The rebels have been fighting for 18 months

Warring rebels in the Solomons have been offered a multi-million dollar compensation deal if they move quickly towards a constitutional settlement.

If there was just a resolution out of the barrel of a gun, then obviously there would be...no compensation

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer

The package, which would be financed mainly by Australia and New Zealand, emerged as the key point of a plan put forward by a Commonwealth delegation which visited the capital Honiara at the weekend.

But Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who led the mission, warned the offer would be withdrawn if a parliamentary vote for a new prime minister did not go ahead on Thursday.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff said Solomons' Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu was likely to resign within days.

He said Mr Ulufa'alu feared his life and that of his family was at risk if he stayed in office.

The prime minister was seized at gunpoint a week ago by rebels from the Malaita Eagles Force (MEF) militia who also took control of the capital.

The MEF is fighting the rival Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM) who want to push Malaitan migrants off the main island of Guadalcanal.

The people we would be compensating are the ordinary Malaitans who without good reason were forcibly removed from their lands and homes

New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff

Mr Goff said it was too early to estimate the cost of the compensation bill, but it would involve New Zealand, Australia, and possibly the wider Commonwealth and the European Union.

However he added: "We have told the [MEF] that if they choose the path of war and devastate their economy there will be no chance of ever getting the compensation locally and no government in their right mind would continue to pour aid into a country bent on self-destruction."

Shooting

News of the land deal offer came amid fears that the entry of a third rebel group into the conflict could lead to an escalation of fighting.

The rebels have declared a two-week truce

One man was shot dead on Sunday when militiamen took control of the town of Gizo in the west of the Pacific state, some 370km (230 miles) north-west of the capital, Honiara.

The attack was carried out by a group thought to have links to the separatist Bougainville Revolutionary Army in neighbouring Papua New Guinea.

According to local officials, the group's leaders said they wanted to protect the western province from the MEF.

The heavily-armed group of about 50 men is now reported to have returned to Bougainville.

Confidence vote

A parliamentary vote of no confidence in Mr Ulufa'alu's government is scheduled for Thursday.

Australia continues to evacuate foreign nationals from the islands

Mr Ulufa'alu was freed by the rebels two days ago when the MEF and the IFM declared a two week truce.

Both groups are now moving into positions east and west of Honiara and around the airport, which has seen most of the fighting.

The MEF and the IFM have been fighting for 18 months over land rights. The recent violence has left at least 55 people dead and driven 20,000 Malaitans from their homes.