The Solomon Islands parliament has approved plans for an Australian-led force of 2,000 police and troops to restore order in the South Pacific state.
The Australian Associated Press said the vote was unanimous in the parliament, despite some criticism the plan was an attempt to recolonise the former British protectorate, which has suffered ethnic violence and a coup in 2000.
The deployment would be the biggest military force in the South Pacific since World War Two.
The deployment of foreign police and soldiers in the 1,000-island chain that is home to about 450,000 people is expected by the end of July.
The force will first try to restore law and order in the capital, Honiara, where armed gangs roam at will, extorting money from the government and firing at the prime minister's home.
The intervention force, to be made up mainly of Australian and New Zealand personnel, will then try to extend its grip out to the provinces where renegade warlord Mr Harold Keke's supporters are accused of torturing, raping and beheading villagers.
Unconfirmed reports said Mr Keke had attacked and burned down houses in two villages in his Weathercoast stronghold, despite having declared a ceasefire last weekend.
Once known as the "Happy Isles", the Solomons has slipped deeper into anarchy since independence in 1978. Years of fighting between Malaita and Guadalcanal islanders over land disputes near Honiara led to a coup in 2000.