Police have broken up clashes between university students in Papua New Guinea over the corruption allegations against Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill.

The University of Papua New Guinea is reportedly in lockdown after police were quick to intervene and prevented further clashes and damages to campus property.

The police fired shots and teargas to quell the situation. The students threw stones and sticks at each other, the Post-Courier reports.

The students actions comes amid the political turmoil which has gripped the capital city over the warrant of arrest for the prime minister.

The students had been preparing to vote on staging a protest rally.

Police were called around lunchtime on Tuesday to the main campus in Port Moresby to break up the fight between supporters of the prime minister and those who want to stage a student rally demanding his resignation.

ABC correspondent Liam Cochrane said that there was some pushing and shoving and some sticks and stones were thrown but the worst injuries were cuts and bruises.

Acting NCD Metropolitan Police Commander Perou N’Dranou says that the police were now monitoring the situation on location.

Students were holding a referendum to decide whether or not to hold a protest over what has become known as the ‘Parakagate’ scandal when the violence broke out.

“My understanding is, there was a vote held, the bulk of the student body voted to hold protests, wanting the arrest of the Prime Minister,” Liam Cochrane said. “A minority of students, most from the Southern Highlands – which is Peter O’Neill’s province – did not want to protest and a clash ensued.

“In the midst of that the president of the student representative council, Bobby Yupi, was kicked out in a vote of no confidence. He’s from the Southern Highlands and was against the protest and so he’s been removed and replaced.

“It’s interesting to see the political debate and divide over this question getting down to this student politics level,” Cochrane said.

“What has happened is essentially a reflection of the wider political struggle happening here in regard to the prime minister’s arrest warrant for allegations of corruption and those who are in favour or against.”

O’Neill was issued with an arrest warrant in mid-June after the country’s anti-corruption agency Taskforce Sweep accused him of authorising fraudulent government payments worth millions of kina to local law firm, Paraka Lawyers.

Since there have been a number of court appeals against the arrest warrant but on Monday, O’Neill instructed his lawyers to withdraw all court appeals so the police can do their job to verify the legality of fees paid to Paraka Lawyers.

The student referendum results are yet to be announced as the UPNG campus has been shut down by the police.

Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea’s leading anti-corruption unit has been re-instated by a court after it was disbanded by the Prime Minister O’Neill last month.

It’s suspended chairman, Sam Koim, filed for a judicial review saying he was denied natural justice, and the disbanding was unreasonable and against the principles of democracy.

The National Court granted an interim stay on the unit’s abolition until Thursday.

Until then, the unit will have access to all its resources and powers.

The stay means Taskforce Sweep can continue investigations and the enforcement of warrants of arrests can be pursued again.