Australian troops and police sent to restore peace in the strife-torn Solomon Islands have been warned the first session of parliament next week may trigger more violence.
A deployment of 110 Australian troops and 70 Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers arrived in the Solomons last night, following riots in the nation's capital.
They joined 282 AFP officers already there as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
The riots erupted on Tuesday after Snyder Rini was elected as prime minister, with much of the violence directed at the Chinese and Taiwanese community who were accused of rigging the election.
Mr Rini emerged for the first time after the riots last night and today was sworn in as prime minister.
While the violence had subsided today, AFP chief Mick Keelty said the first session of parliament could trigger more unrest.
"Clearly, the people who have been involved in the violence over the last 36 hours have now had time to regroup, so it remains to be seen whether they actually engage themselves in similar acts of violence following from then," Mr Keelty said.
He said there had been no major violence during the past 24 hours and police and military patrols had resumed.
Additional police from New Zealand had arrived and Fiji police were expected to arrive soon.
"The situation on the ground is still tense but is under control," Mr Keelty said.
"We've stopped the looting for the time being. There have been over 70 people arrested.
"We expect to have more arrests over the next 24 to 48 hours as the police move into the areas where people have come from, particularly some of the village areas."
Prime Minister John Howard agreed that while the situation in the capital was better, life had not yet returned to normal.
Mr Howard received a detailed report this morning from the High Commissioner and also the Regional Assistance Commission Headquarters.
"It does indicate already that the presence of additional police and soldiers is having a sobering effect on those who caused the trouble," Mr Howard told ABC Radio.
"But we are not out of the woods and it doesn't mean the situation won't get bad again."
While Opposition Leader Kim Beazley supports the government sending additional security forces, he says it needs to send about 100 more troops.
"They need to be going in larger numbers than they are now," Mr Beazley told reporters in Adelaide.
Australians escaping the strife-torn Solomons on return defence force flights said they were terrorised by the riots.
Brisbane woman Sue Kidd and Anne Gunser, from Perth, told reporters they were convinced they would never make it home to Australia alive when an enraged mob began bombarding their Honiara hotel with rocks.
The pair had been visiting their prison officer husbands in Honiara and were staying at the Pacific Casino Hotel, the capital's newest hotel, which a government spokesman last night said was ablaze.
Ms Kidd suffered a badly cut right arm when a glass window was shattered by the mob.
"We did our best just to keep alive," she said.
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