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Shops have been set on fire or looted in parts of Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby as unrest breaks out during a police and military strike.
The protest over unexplained pay deductions to salaries of police, military, and correctional services has triggered sporadic looting in Port Moresby.
About 200 Papua New Guinea police and military personnel have abandoned work for a day to protest.
At 10am (local time) on Wednesday, police and military personnel gathered at Port Moresby's Unagi oval in protest over what they say are hefty "tax" deductions in the most recent pay period.
According to service members, the deductions over the last fortnight range between US$26 and US$80 (K100 and K300).
The police union demanded answers from the government at the gathering and by 11am, a large group proceeded to Parliament where they demanded answers from the Prime minister and members of the cabinet.
The deductions come as Papua New Guineans experienced a noticeable rise in the cost of goods and services in the last three months.
RNZ Pacific Correspondent in PNG, Scott Waide, said the Internal Revenue Commissioner has released a statement, saying that the government was working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue.
Prime Minister James Marape has released a statement calling for calm while stating that the deductions were caused by a glitch in the government payroll system.
