By Phil Mercer BBC

A 2,000-strong military and police force could be deployed by the end of the month.

Parliamentarians in the capital, Honiara, still need to pass new laws permitting foreign troops to operate within the Solomon Islands. This legislation is expected to be passed at a parliamentary session next week.

MPs voted for the plan following two days of debate.

The Prime Minister, Sir Allan Kemakeza, had told them the country simply was not capable of dealing with its problems.

He said any parliamentarian who voted against the proposals would have to answer to future generations.

Another speaker blamed the island's former colonial master, Britain, for its descent into anarchy. The British, he said, forced us to be united and when they left we disintegrated.

The country is in a serious mess. The police force is powerless to curb the rule of the gun and the government has run out of money.

This is the legacy of an ethnic war that ended three years ago but tore the Solomon Islands apart.

The country's police chief, William Morrell, said the multi-national peacekeepers were essential to prop up the government.

Mr Morrell, an Englishman appointed earlier this year, said the vast majority of the population would welcome the foreign intervention force.

Teams of Australian and New Zealand defence and police officials are already in Honiara planning the arrival of the 2,000-strong contingent.

It is expected to confiscate weapons, help reform the police, court and prison systems and protect key government institutions such as the Finance Ministry.