Policeman killed by Fiji rebels

Rebels ransacked a television station

A Fijian policeman has been killed by gunmen loyal to George Speight, the leader of the country's armed coup.

It was the first killing in the crisis which erupted when Mr Speight took the former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and about 30 others hostage in the parliament building on 19 May.

Constable Filipo Seavula was shot on Sunday while on patrol during rioting by supporters of the armed rebels and later died in hospital.

He was attacked as unarmed police officers tried in vain to restore order.

A mob of 200 of Mr Speight's supporters left the parliament compound and went on a rampage and looting spree through the capital, Suva.

Coup supporters attempted to disarm soldiers on Saturday

The rebels are demanding a monopoly of political power for the country's indigenous population, at the expense of its large ethnic Indian community.

Destruction

Calm has returned to the streets after the rebels swept into the city centre, defying official roadblocks and firing shots in the air - despite a heavy police presence.

A trail of destruction was left in their wake. Hotels and other buildings erected barricades and posted guards outside.

The offices of Fiji TV were ransacked, forcing it off air.

Shots were also reported near Government House, the residence of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

A number of journalists were also detained in the parliament compound. Reports say some are still being held.

'Show of strength'

The BBC's Phil Mercer, reporting from Suva, says the TV may have been a target because it ran interview with an opponent of the uprising who described its leader as selfish and arrogant.

As the riots went on, George Speight went to church to pray for peace

Our correspondent says the violence appeared to be a show of strength by Mr Speight, and demonstrated once again how easily the coup leader and his heavily-armed private army can terrorise the city.

The unrest followed shooting between government troops and the rebels on Saturday, which left a press cameraman wounded in the arm.

Peace moves

Sunday's violence came as the hostage crisis entered its 10th day and after Mr Speight had suggested - following talks with indigenous chiefs - that the hostages could be freed within 48 hours.

His agenda is clear - the president is trying to do everything in his power to retain power in this country

Coup leader George Speight

"I believe in my heart of hearts that we're very close to a resolution," he told a news conference.

But the coup plotters have rejected moves by President Ratu Mara to bring the crisis to an end.

The president sacked the ethnic Indian Prime Minister Majendra Chaudhry on Saturday and hinted strongly at an amnesty for the rebels, but Mr Speight dismissed the offer as "the act of a desperate man".

The rebels have been demanding President Mara's resignation and a new constitution that would exclude from power Fiji's prosperous Indian minority.

Rebel demands

Earlier, the head of the islands' council of chiefs, Sitiveni Rabuka, said negotiations with the rebels were making little progress.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Rabuka - himself the leader of two coups in 1987 - said rebel demands, that they be recognised as the legal government and the multi-ethnic constitution be scrapped, were unacceptable.

But Mr Rabuka added that while he disagreed with the rebels' methods, he had some sympathy with their view that the culture of indigenous Fijians should not be eroded while ethnic Indians held political power.

Talks between the rebels and a delegation from the council of chiefs had resumed on Sunday before the mob went on the rampage.

Fiji's neighbours, Australia and New Zealand, are among many countries to threaten sanctions if democracy is not restored.