Guadalcanal well known as Henderson Field is now the international airport for the Solomon Islands. It sits about five miles to the east of Honiara. In early 1999, long-simmering tensions between the local Guale people on Guadalcanal and more recent migrants from the neighbouring island of Malaita erupted into violence. The 'Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army', later called Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM), began terrorising Malaitans in the rural areas of the island in an effort to force them out of their homes. About 20,000 Malaitans fled to the capital and others returned to their home island; Guale residents of Honiara fled. The city
Malaita Malaita Island (also called Small Malaita or Maramasike), separated by the narrow Maramasike Passage. Beyond that is Makira, the southernmost large island in the Solomon archipelago. Malaita's climate is extremely wet. It is located in the Intertropical Convergence Zone ("Doldrums"), with its fickle weather patterns. The sun is at zenith over Malaita, and thus the effect is most pronounced, in November and February. Trade winds come during the southern hemisphere's winter, and from about April to August they blow from the southeast fairly steadily. During the summer, fringes of monsoon blow over the island. Because of the surrounding sea, air