French Forces Launch 'Major Operation' To Open Route To Noumea
Mon, May 20 - Noumea - The access to Montravel is still blocked by rioters, posing a significant challenge for law enforcement. Officials said more than 600 heavily armed gendarmes were dispatched to secure Route Territoriale 1, the main artery connecting the restive capital with air links to the outside world. Furthermore, plans for the Olympic torch relay to pass through the French territory were cancelled on Saturday. The flame had been scheduled to arrive on June 11 but French Sports Minister Amélie Oudea-Castera said that "priority must be given to a return to calm" in the territory. Six people have been killed and hundreds injured since rioting began on Monday, according to local authorities. The violence has been fuelled by economic malaise, ethnic tensions and long-standing opposition to French rule on the Pacific archipelago. Photo by Gill Chabaud/ABACAPRESS.COM
- Product Code
- ILEA002733611
- Registered date
- 2024/5/20 00:00:00
- Credit
- Abaca Press / Kyodo News Images
- Media source
- Chabaud Gill/ABACA
- Media size
- 8192 × 5464 pixel
- Resolution
- 240 dpi
- Deployment size
- 9.07(MB)*
- Special instruction
*File size when opened in Photoshop, etc.
