WELLINGTON, May 28 (Xinhua) -- More than 300 people have been flown out of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia in a series of New Zealand government repatriation operations.
As of Tuesday, seven New Zealand government aircraft flights to the capital Noumea have assisted around 225 New Zealanders and 145 foreign nationals to travel from New Caledonia to New Zealand.
"It has been a complex but successful operation since the first flight on May 21," New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Tuesday.
The dispatched flights not only assisted Kiwis in New Caledonia, but also transported foreign nationals from countries that had sought New Zealand assistance," said Peters, also deputy prime minister.
New Zealand was also pleased to assist New Caledonians, stuck in New Zealand due to the unrest and the closure of Noumea's international airport, to return home, Peters said.
A proposed voting reform sparked protests and riots in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, which have left six dead and hundreds injured since May 13, according to media reports. ■