Fiji army to secure parts of Suva amid coup fears

SUVA, Nov 29 (Reuters) Fiji's military stood poised to take over parts of the capital in defiance of the government and possible foreign intervention, hours after an Australian army helicopter crashed nearby amid fears of an imminent coup.

The military exercises were announced not long after New Zealand-brokered talks between Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and defiant military chief, Commander Frank Bainimarama, broke up in Wellington today without apparent resolution.

The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) said that the three-hour exercises would begin in Suva at midnight (1200 GMT).

Up to 2,000 troops would secure areas stretching from Suva's downtown market area along the waterfront past the governor's residence and the national parliament, officials said.

The military warned the public to exercise caution and told them not to be alarmed if they saw troops in battle gear.

''The exercise will entail securing strategic areas within the greater Suva area and also the firing of illumination rounds into the sea,'' the RFMF said in a statement.

''The exercise is in anticipation of any foreign intervention and the RFMF is taking all precautionary measures,'' it said.

Bainimarama has repeatedly threatened to remove Qarase's government unless it drops several pieces of controversial legislation, including a bill that would grant amnesty to those involved in a coup in 2000.

Not long before the military show of force, Australia's defence force confirmed that one of its soldiers had been killed and another was missing after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed as it tried to land on a navy transport ship south of Fiji.

Of the 10 troops aboard the helicopter, seven were injured but none seriously, Defence Force head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told reporters in Canberra.

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