A man was shot dead by military police, the tenth death in the violence

Noumea prosecutor Yves Dupas said the incident took place in the morning in the Kanak tribal area of ​​Saint-Louis in the municipality of Mont-Dore.

According to the same source, a resident of the tribe was shot dead near the Mission San Luis Church by a gendarme from the GIGN (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group).

Prosecutors added that the soldier “used his service weapon” in response to an attack that posed an imminent danger to his fellow soldiers and himself.

The prosecutor’s office has opened two investigations, one for attempted murder of a person holding public authority and the other for intentional violence causing death without intent to cause death.

The prosecutor believes that “at the current stage of the investigation and in light of the ongoing investigation, the hypothesis of an act of self-defense may be supported, given the circumstances that led the gendarmes to use their service weapons”.

The death toll in New Caledonia has risen to 10 since the provincial elections broke out on May 13 over a project to reform electoral institutions.

The constitutional bill, which separatists accuse of marginalizing the influence of the indigenous Kanak people, was suspended by Emmanuel Macron three days after the National Assembly was dissolved in June.

However, the unrest in the Oceania region has continued since then, and the past two months have seen the worst riots since the 1980s, which, in addition to killing 10 people, including two gendarmes, have also caused considerable material damage (fires, vandalism, looting, etc.).

Tensions have resurfaced since June 19 following large-scale raids on pro-independence circles.

Thirteen people accused of involvement in planning the Cayous riots have been indicted. Five of them remain in pretrial detention on the French mainland, 17,000 kilometres from the archipelago, which separatists have likened to an “expulsion” of “political prisoners”.

Among those detained in France is Christian Tein, leader of the Field Action Coordination Group (CCAT), who authorities accuse of organizing the violence.

– ‘Multiple antecedents’ –

The man killed on Wednesday was named as Rock Victorin Wamytan, nicknamed “Banana”, who told AFP he was the younger cousin of the great Kanak traditional chief Roch Wamytan, president of the National Assembly of New Caledonia.

He was the subject of a search warrant because of his alleged involvement in a string of vehicle thefts in recent weeks in which weapons were used or threatened, prosecutors said.

The same source noted that among his “multiple criminal records,” “Banana” was sentenced to prison for his involvement in the St. Louis riots in 2016. He was released last July.

Despite the deployment of some 3,500 police and gendarmes, security is far from restored on the large island and a curfew will remain in place until at least July 15.

Incidents there continue to increase.

A sea shuttle bus connecting Mont-Dore South and Burari to Noumea, bypassing the blockade of provincial roads near Saint-Louis, was set on fire overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the South Province said in a press release.

In addition, according to a complaint statement released by Aircalin, the company was forced to reduce its flight schedule due to the crisis and was the victim of an attempt to intrude into a commercial establishment in Noumea on Tuesday evening.