The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) will carry out a series of controlled bomb-blast operations in Western and Choiseul provinces to dispose of dangerous unexploded wartime ordnance.
Police say the operations will target UXO sites in Munda, Rendova and Kolombangara, as well as Tarekukure, Taro, Shortlands, Nila and Lofung.
The RSIPF Explosive Ordnance Disposal Department will conduct the operations between 15 and 31 August, with activities taking place between 8am and 4pm.
“Communities near the designated sites have been warned to stay away while the operations are underway,” a statement from the police said.
The RSIPF said evacuations and roadblocks would be imposed where necessary to protect residents and EOD officers.
The operations highlight a dangerous legacy of the Second World War that continues to threaten Solomon Islanders more than 80 years after the fighting ended.
Solomon Islands was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific during the war, particularly during the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Large quantities of bombs, artillery shells, ammunition and other military equipment were left behind across the country.
Much of the ordnance was never recovered.
The unexploded remnants remain buried on land, hidden in vegetation and submerged in the country’s waters.
The Australian Government says unexploded WWII ordnance continues to pose a threat to communities in Solomon Islands.
Australia has supported the RSIPF in building its own EOD capability to address the problem.
The Solomon Islands Government has also repeatedly raised the issue internationally, describing UXO as a continuing threat to communities and an obstacle to development.
Former Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele told the United Nations in 2025 that WWII UXO remained a threat to Solomon Islands communities and continued to obstruct development.
The problem extends beyond land.
Areas around Iron Bottom Sound, where many ships and aircraft were lost during the Guadalcanal campaign, also contain WWII wrecks and potential UXO hazards.
For the RSIPF, safely removing and destroying the ordnance is therefore not simply a policing operation.
It is part of a long-running effort to make communities safer and allow land and infrastructure to be used without the hidden danger of wartime explosives.
Director of the RSIPF EOD Department, Inspector Clifford Tunuki, has urged communities to stay clear of operational areas during the clearance in coming weeks..
He said affected communities would be informed of specific sites before operations begin.
“Community safety and the safety of our officers remain the highest priority,” Tunuki said.
He also urged people to report any suspected UXO rather than attempting to move or handle it.
Reports can be made directly to the RSIPF EOD Department on 7495215 or through the nearest police station.
A Danger That Has
Outlived The War
The continuing discovery of WWII ordnance shows how deeply the war remains embedded in Solomon Islands.
Australian officials have described UXO as a “devastating legacy” of the war and have committed support to strengthening Solomon Islands’ capacity to deal with it.
Australia, the United States and Japan have provided funding, training and infrastructure support for the RSIPF’s EOD capability over the years.
The partnership aims to strengthen Solomon Islands’ ability to safely identify, remove and dispose of explosive remnants of war.
For communities in the Western, Choiseul and Shortland Islands, the latest operations will remove some of those hidden wartime dangers.
