French troops try to restore order as violence rages in New Caledonia

Pacific territory’s capital convulsed by rioting and looting for almost a week, leaving 6 dead

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One NOUMEA, New Caledonia more person was killed on May 18 and two injured in France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia, as security personnel tried to restore order after a fifth night of riots and looting that have now claimed six lives.

The incident occurred in the archipelago's northern Kaala-Gomen area, General Nicolas Mattheos said. An informed source said the dead man and one of the injured were a father and son trying to cross a barricade erected by rioters.

Hundreds of heavily armed French marines and police officers patrolled the capital Noumea, where streets were filled with debris.

"We're far from getting back to calm," Noumea Mayor Sonia Lagarde told news channel BFM TV.

"You could describe the last two nights as calmer, but the days are all alike, each with its share of fires," she added.

AFP reporters in the city's Magenta district saw vehicles and buildings burned, with a phalanx of riot police on the scene trying to reassert government control.

Overnight, residents reported hearing gunfire, the drone of helicopter rotors and "massive explosions" what seemed to be gas canisters blowing up inside a building that was set alight.

For days, Ms Helene, aged 42, has been manning makeshift barricades with neighbours, taking two-to-three-hour shifts as they wait for thousands of French security forces being flown 17,000km to impose order.

"At night, we hear shooting and things going off," she told AFP.