Tonga ? International troops secured the airport in riot-scarred Tonga, and commercial flights were to begin evacuating frightened foreigners from the island today, Australia’s foreign minister said.

Police and soldiers from Australia and New Zealand arrived on the impoverished Pacific island on Saturday following street violence Thursday that killed at least eight people and destroyed most of the capital’s business district.

Sixty troops and 10 police from New Zealand and 85 Australian soldiers and police arrived in the kingdom’s capital on Saturday.

The troops will secure infrastructure, including the airport, power stations, broadcasting systems and key government buildings.

The violence was triggered by anger that Parliament might finish this year’s session without settling plans to introduce reforms that would give democratically elected lawmakers a parliamentary majority over royally appointed legislators.