Fiji’s army head, who is threatening a coup against the government, says the sooner the military acts the better.
In a TV interview, Cmdr Frank Bainimarama said the army would “find ways” to make Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase resign if he refused to do so.
He said he planned to appoint an interim civilian administration and hold elections at a later date.
But Cmdr Bainimarama did not specify a deadline, amid media reports he plans to act early on Monday.
Tension has been rising for weeks in the Pacific island nation amid a stand-off between Cmdr Bainimarama, the head of Fiji’s military, and the prime minister.
A Friday deadline the military leader set for Mr Qarase to step aside has already passed.
Early on Thursday, the military staged night-time operations to secure strategic areas of the capital, Suva, in what it described as a training exercise.
