Police unit disbanded

Fiji's sole armed police unit - the elite Tactical Response Division - is no longer operational on the orders of the military-appointed police commissioner, police said yesterday.

A statement said the unit had been disbanded on February 1.

"Lately the functions of the unit appeared to have been compromised when it was used for other purposes for which it was [not] intended."

Just hours before, a senior Army officer said the unit had no significance and should be done away with.