Stephen “Luke” Atkinson from Britain and Australian Trent Lee, both staff members of Norwegian People’s Aid were killed in an explosion according to the agency:

Solomon Islands incident update from Norwegian People’s Aid

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) is cooperating with local police and government in their investigation of the tragic event that occurred in Honiara, Solomon Islands on the 20th September at 6:40 PM local time.

NPA is awaiting preliminary conclusions from the ongoing police investigation of the explosion that caused the tragic death of our two colleagues, Luke Atkinson, citizen of New Zealand and holding dual UK and Ireland citizenship and Trent Lee, Australian citizen.

– Our primary focus for the time being is taking good care of the next of kin of our two deceased colleagues as well as our 19 programme staff in the Solomon Islands, says Director for Mine Action and Disarmament at NPA, Per Håkon Breivik.

NPA would also like to acknowledge the distress the residents of the affected neighbourhood must have experienced, and extend our deepest sympathy.

Since 2019, NPA has been assisting the Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services in Solomon Islands in creating a centralized database of the known and suspected explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination, and in developing an effective nation-wide information collection system. – Our objective in this program is to contribute to a safer Solomon Islands free from explosive remnants from the Second World War, says Breivik.

When dealing with explosive remnants of war, NPA as an organization is required to follow strict national and international standards and procedures. Every Mine Action and Disarmament programme establishes and maintains standard operating procedures (SOP) that are simultaneously bespoke to national standards and context and compliant to mentioned international standards. – We put the safety of our staff as well as that of the communities we serve before any other considerations. 

All staff involved in explosive ordnance survey, clearance and disposal operations are recruited in compliance with international requirements related to competence, formal qualifications and relevant necessary experience and specialization. A number of staff dedicate their entire professional careers to this life-saving work, Breivik emphasizes. 

NPA acknowledges that the Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) has reported that unexploded ordnance has been found at the scene of the explosion. Bringing explosive ordnance to residential areas and the subsequent storage of such items in private residences of NPA staff is not in compliance with the mentioned international standards and NPA’s internal standard operating procedures. 

Furthermore, such actions are outside of the scope of the NPA mission on the Solomon Islands, and the existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) between NPA and the Ministry of Police National Security and Correctional Services, which is limited to survey and information management system support. The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force explosive ordnance teams are the only entity authorized to render safe, move and dispose of unexploded ordnance (UXO) found in the country.

NPA’s operations have been suspended while awaiting further information from police and local authorities regarding the accident.NPA’s programme in the Solomon Islands

Seventy-five years after the end of WWII, the Solomon Islands are still contaminated with Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) on land and in the sea. The ERW includes unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO). Abandoned chemical weapons are also a part of the WWII legacy but the level of such contamination is currently unknown.

The NPA programme was established in 2019 following a request from the Solomon Island Government to assist in their Explosive Remnants of War problem, focusing on mapping of contamination and impact of unexploded ordnance originating from the Second World War. 

NPA has also supported a National Standards review committee with the goal of approving and actioning appropriate and practical National Mine Action Standards.

Earlier this year NPA started Non-Technical Survey (NTS) activities in the province of Guadalcanal, together with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team. To date, more than 500 items of explosive ordnance (EO) of various types were successfully located and reported.

The Solomon Islands Campaign, WWII national museum

Following its attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), the Japanese Imperial Navy occupied islands throughout the western Pacific Ocean. Japan’s goal was to create a defensive buffer against attack from the United States and its allies—one that would ensure Japan mastery over east Asia and the southwest Pacific. After the US strategic victories at the Battles of the Coral Sea (May 7–8, 1942) and Midway (June 4–7, 1942), the Japanese Imperial Navy was no longer capable of major offensive campaigns, which permitted the Allies to start their own offensive in the Pacific.

In August 1942, America mounted its first major amphibious landing of World War II at Guadalcanal, using innovative landing craft built by Higgins Industries in New Orleans. By seizing a strategic airfield site on the island, the United States halted Japanese efforts to disrupt supply routes to Australia and New Zealand. The invasion ignited a ferocious struggle marked by
seven major naval battles, numerous clashes ashore, and almost continuous air combat. For six long months US forces fought to hold the island. In the end they prevailed, and the Allies took the first vital step in driving the Japanese back in the Pacific theater.

The Battles

American forces first landed on the Solomon Islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida on the morning of August 7,1942. After some fierce fighting, the US Marines cleared Tulagi and Florida by August 9. The main forces on Guadalcanal met little resistance on their way inland to secure the airfield at Lunga Point, which was soon renamed Henderson Field after Loy Henderson, an aviator killed at the Battle of Midway. Almost immediately, however, Japanese naval aircraft attacked transport and escort ships, and Japanese reinforcements arrived in the area. 

Over the following days, the first of many deadly naval battles occurred—the Naval Battle of Savo Island. The fight for control of Guadalcanal, its critical airfield, and the seas around them continued for months with both sides losing men, ships, and aircraft and with neither side able to drive the other off the island. 

During the first amphibious invasion in the Pacific, the United States made many initial mistakes, including not having the proper resources on the beaches to move men and matériel inland. The logistical challenges of transport and supply across the Pacific were also immense. Difficult jungle terrain, inhospitable weather, lack of infrastructure, and a foe that fought to the death gave the United States its first taste of what was to come throughout the Pacific war. It seemed that every time the United States inched closer to victory, the Japanese would resupply Guadalcanal by night and be ready for more fighting the next day.  
 

• On Guadalcanal, American servicemembers battled heat, mosquitoes, disease, dense vegetation, and unfamiliar terrain along with a determined Japanese enemy in an all-consuming, round-the-clock battle. (Image: The National WWII Museum, 2002.069.144.)
• Members of the U.S. 11th Marines with a 75mm pack howitzer on Guadalcanal, 1942. (Image: National Archives and Records Administration.)

Determined to achieve a decisive victory, Japanese forces massed for an all-out attack in October 1942. Meanwhile, the Marines finally began receiving fresh reinforcements, including soldiers from the US Army. The Americans strengthened their defenses at Henderson Field and launched aggressive jabs to keep the Japanese off-balance. When the Japanese Seventeenth Army launched the assault on October 23, 1942, striking at multiple points along the airfield perimeter over four days, tenacious fighting by US Marines and soldiers threw back the attacks. American losses were significant, but Japanese losses were devastating. 

The battle at sea also heated up in the fall of 1942. On October 26, American and Japanese naval forces clashed off the Santa Cruz Islands. Japan secured a tactical victory, sinking the carrier Hornet, but paid a severe price in aircraft and skilled aircrew. Then from November 12–15, in the frantic Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, American sailors and airmen blocked Japan’s last effort to knock out Henderson Field from the sea, at heavy cost. As one Japanese officer noted, “This was the fork in the road.” While fighting continued on the island, the Japanese withdrew their final men and left the island to the Allies in February 1943.

The Outcome

The Solomon Islands Campaign cost the Allies approximately 7,100 men, 29 ships, and 615 aircraft. The Japanese lost 31,000 men, 38 ships, and 683 aircraft. Over the next two and a half years, US forces captured the Gilbert Islands (Tarawa and Makin), the Marshall Islands (Kwajalein and Eniwetok), the Mariana Islands (Saipan, Guam, and Tinian), Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. With each island taken from the Japanese, the United States moved closer to Japan. Growing superiority at sea and in the air, as well as in the number of fighting men, gave the United States increasing advantages. Nonetheless, wherever US forces met Japanese defenders, the enemy fought long and hard before being defeated.

Currently, Australian Troops are deployed to the Solomon Islands

Operation ANODE is the name of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contribution to the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). RAMSI’s assistance is known as Operation HELPEM FREN (Pidgin for ‘Helping Friend’). 

RAMSI’s mission is to assist the Government of Solomon Islands in the maintenance of security, law and justice, economic governance and improving the machinery of government.

The Combined Task Force 635 (CTF635) deployed in support of Operation ANODE is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Brenton Gasteen of the Australian Army.

The military component of RAMSI is comprised of personnel from four troop contributing nations – Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.

The main task for the military component is to be prepared to respond to incidents beyond the capabilities of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) and RAMSI’s multi-national Participating Police Force (PPF).

Specialist military staff in RAMSI’s headquarters are also deployed to coordinate the multi-national military effort with the PPF.