Solomon Islands police say they were trying to confirm reports that a local warlord has killed nine people in the past week, most of them followers he suspected of working to betray him. Militant Guadalcanal leader Harold Keke was reported Tuesday by local media in the capital, Honiara, to have killed eight of his own followers and a missionary from the Melanesian Brotherhood church group. All the killings were reported to have taken place on the remote and mountainous west coast of Guadalcanal, the main island in the Solomons chain, where Keke has held out against police for several years. State-owned Solomon Islands radio quoted local peace group leader, Rollen Seleso, as saying Keke killed his own close associates because he had suspected them of collaborating with police to capture him. Seleso said the murders came to light after three of Keke’s “very close supporters” deserted him and reported the killings, which they had witnessed. Full Story