Fresh attacks feared in Fiji

SUVA, AUG. 9. Fiji's military warned of possible new rebel attacks as it searched rugged bushland today for a gang which killed a soldier and a policeman yesterday. ``There is certainly the potential for further attacks, there is no doubt about it, as long as there are weapons out there in the wrong hands,'' the military spokesman, Lt. Col. Filipo Tarakinikini, said.

The shooting, believed to be the work of the jailed coup leader, Mr. George Speight's supporters, has shocked Fiji. The two were killed at a small farming community outside Suva as their patrol went to investigate reports of an armed gang firing at an ethnic Indian family in Mr. Speight's home district. Three soldiers were also injured in the attack, one seriously with a gunshot wound to the chest.

The Fijian and Australian media said at least one member of the rebel gang was a convict who escaped in a mass prison breakout in early June. Lt. Col. Tarakinikini would not confirm whether the escaped prisoner was among those responsible for the attack.

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Section  : International
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