Two killed in Fiji

9:00 AM - HERALD ONLINE STAFF

A Fiji police officer and a soldier have been killed and a third soldier wounded in a rebel ambush at Nausori, about 15 km north of Suva.

Military spokesman Colonel Filipo Tarakinikini says 10 police and soldiers in two vehicles were responding to a report from local people that gunshots had been heard.

The patrol came under fire when it stopped to investigate a parked four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Colonel Tarakinikini says the attackers were last seen driving north toward a hydroelectric power station where
weapons are still being held by supporters of George Speight.

He says the military is still examining the scene of the killings.

The ambush is the first major case of unrest in Fiji following the court appearance last Saturday of Speight.

Speight and several associates from the May 19 coup are being held by the military on an island near Suva, pending a further court appearance.

Speight has been charged with minor offences linked to the overthrow of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's government, and treason charges may also be laid against him.