Australia welcomes Bougainville referendum deal

Australia has welcomed news that Papua New Guinea is to hold an independence referendum in the secessionist province of Bougainville.

Leaders negotiated the agreement on Friday at Kokopo in Northeastern Papua New Guinea.

The Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, told Radio Australia he was pleased that his suggestions helped the two sides towards a deal.

Under it, a referendum can be held ten years after an autonomous government is elected.

Bougainville rebels have been fighting for nine years, during which it's believed up to twenty-thousand people have been killed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service