The public prosecutor announced that a man died on Friday as a result of his injuries, after being involved in a shoot-out with gendarmes on Monday

The public prosecutor in Nouméa announced on Saturday 8 June that one of the two men shot by gendarmes in New Caledonia on Monday had died on Friday as a result of his injuries. This brings to eight the total number of deaths, including two gendarmes, since the start of the crisis in the archipelago in mid-May. The events unfolded on Monday in the Col de la Pirogue area of Païta, a strategic point on the road between Nouméa and the international airport, which is frequently blocked by pro-independence forces.

According to the gendarmes, quoted by the public prosecutor, their hire car was deliberately rear-ended by a pick-up truck after passing through a roadblock. ‘Several armed men then opened fire on the vehicle, which led two gendarmes to use their service weapons in response’, the prosecutor said earlier this week.

In addition, the Haut-Commissariat has announced that the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will be maintained throughout New Caledonia until 17 June. The bans on gatherings, the sale and transport of weapons and the sale of alcohol have also been extended until that date, according to the official statement. Since mid-May, 1,044 people have been arrested, according to the Haut-Commissariat.