Police fired warning shells and fired tear gas to disperse the rioters Manasseh Sogaware East of the usually sleepy seaside capital.
AFP correspondents saw the mob set a nearby building on fire before heading back towards the city centre.
Later, the freshly arrived Australian police and troops moved in to restore order, protect critical infrastructure and provide a highly visible and heavily armed presence on the streets.
As the evening rained, local officials moved to seal the embers of violence, declaring a night-time curfew in Honiara that would remain in force “until it is repealed”.
Crowds had previously ignored the 36-hour lockdown, with thousands – some brandishing axes and knives – roaming the city’s Chinatown, point cruzo According to AFP correspondents, and business districts.
The explosion of violence is partly the result of frustration with Sogaware’s government and chronic unemployment – worse than the two-year-old pandemic.
“Most people are barely getting a day’s food, there are no tourists and little economic incentive,” Douglas kelsonThe chief of St John’s Ambulance Service told AFP.
“People do things they wouldn’t normally do when they’re hungry,” Kelson said, “though he’s seen very few injuries.”
After three days of devastation, large areas of the capital were engulfed in flames, even though rioters blew less than in previous days.
Scorched-black shells of buildings stood on a fire-scorched road and three charred trucks were left stranded on the road as young people passed by.
“We’re Living in Fear,” Residents josephine teckney told AFP.
“It’s very difficult at the moment… Children will be missing from schools, a lot of mothers will be unemployed.”
Solomon Islands Red Cross Secretary-General Clement Manuri said Australian police had helped disperse rioters armed with rocks outside his office.
Manuri said many of those on the streets lived in informal settlements near Chinatown and were drinking.
In Chinatown itself, a large warehouse was set on fire on Friday, causing an explosion that caused many people to flee the scene in panic.
A tobacco godown was also set ablaze as parts of the city devastated by the previous day’s fires engulfed parts of the city.
The Overrun Royal Solomon Islands Police Force said they had made just two arrests, while two police stations were among several buildings burned.
About 100 Australian peacekeepers arrived overnight, hours after Sogaware begged neighbors for immediate help.
In a letter obtained by AFP, Sogaware told his Papua New Guinean counterpart James Marape That “certain elements” “attempted to overthrow the democratically elected government” and called for the sending of peacekeepers for “a period of three to four weeks”.
Papua New Guinea agreed to send 34 peacekeepers to help stop the violence.
In an address to the nation, Sogaware told citizens that the riots had “brought Solomon to his knees”, but vowed to resist calls for his resignation.
The pro-Beijing leader claimed that foreign powers opposing his 2019 decision to switch diplomatic allegiance of Solomon from Taiwan to China were behind the mess.
Experts say the crisis also stemmed from a long-standing rivalry between residents of the most populous island, Malaita, and the central government on Guadalcanal Island.
The archipelago of about 700,000 people has endured decades of ethnic and political tensions.
Malaita residents have long complained that their island is neglected by the central government, and divisions intensified when Sogaware recognized Beijing in 2019.
China’s government on Friday condemned the violence and vowed to “protect the security and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and institutions”.
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