Burma's military junta has begun to dismantle a military intelligence unit formerly headed by disgraced Prime Minister Khin Nyunt.
Former officials say 2,000 of an estimated 10,000 military intelligence members were retired or transferred on Wednesday.
The unit is expected to be completely disbanded by the end of the month.
The National Intelligence Bureau, which was headed for two decades by Khin Nyunt, has been at the center of a wide-ranging purge following his firing and arrest in October on corruption charges.
More than 14,000 prisoners have been released in the past several weeks after the government said they were wrongly imprisoned by military intelligence.
Information for this report is provided by AFP.