2 Hurt in New Caledonia as Militants, Police Clash

Two people were seriously injured Monday when violence flared between police and groups of militant Melanesians seeking independence in this troubled French colony in the southwestern Pacific, police said.

Clashes erupted as members of a Melanesian political party, the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front, put up roadblocks on the eastern coast in a bid to stop buses transporting children to school. The protesters stoned vehicles, injuring two motorists and damaging 20 cars.