A leading negotiator in efforts to end the unrest on the Solomon Islands has been killed.

Frederick Soaki, a member of the National Peace Council, was shot dead as he dined at a hotel in the town of Auki in Malaita Province.

He was there as part of a delegation trying to demobilise special constables.

Police say they suspect his murder may be linked to this.

The special constables have been deployed to stop fighting by rival ethnic militias which has claimed hundreds of lives over the past five years.

But the constables are refusing to disband and are demanding the government pays outstanding salaries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service