Two militiamen killed in East Timor clashes<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Australian led multinational force in East
\nTimor on Wednesday killed two militiamen in the first clashes
\nsince they began their mission in the territory.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, commander of the International Force
\nfor East Timor (Interfet), said in East Timor's capital of Dili
\nthat the militia fighters were shot dead when they ambushed an
\nInterfet convoy near the town of Suai.<\/p>\n
The Australian troops were injured, but not seriously,
\nCosgrove said. They were evacuated to Dili and may be taken to
\nDarwin, Australia.<\/p>\n
Troops from Britain and New Zealand were also in the convoy,
\nCosgrove said.<\/p>\n
\"This is the first time that Interfet soldiers have been
\nwounded directly by enemy action,\" Cosgrove said as quoted by
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
\"It is the first time that Interfet have regrettably been
\ncalled upon to take lethal action against an adversary.\"<\/p>\n
The clash happened at 5:25 p.m. local time and took place
\ninside the area Interfet was mandated to secure, Cosgrove said.<\/p>\n
\"It was well and truly a sneak attack,\" the Australian
\ncommanding officer said.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, two militia members were wounded in the
\nlegs when they tried to speed through an Interfet roadblock, he
\nadded. Interfet troops opened fire, shooting out the militia
\nvehicle's tires.<\/p>\n
Two other militiamen were slightly injured in the incident.<\/p>\n
A number of militia from the group that had tried to run the
\nroadblock were then taken to a drop-off point. It was as the
\npeacekeepers returned from dropping the militiamen off at a
\nlocation which Cosgrove did not specify that the Interfet convoy
\nwas ambushed.<\/p>\n
Wednesday's incident was the first sign militia members were
\nactually prepared to take on the heavily-armed troops in the
\nAustralian-led force.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo made an emotional
\nreturn to his devastated homeland on Wednesday after fleeing East
\nTimor at the height of violance following the Aug. 30 ballot.<\/p>\n
The Roman Catholic bishop smiled broadly as he was embraced by
\nnuns, priests and a handful of others after he stepped off a
\nprivate flight from Darwin, Australia.<\/p>\n
AP reported that after arriving in Dili, he later departed for
\nthe eastern city of Baucau to meet the territory's other Catholic
\nbishop Basilio do Nascimento.<\/p>\n
Later in the afternoon Belo, guarded by two members of the
\nAustralian special forces armed with submachine guns equipped
\nwith silencers, returned to his Dili house.<\/p>\n
Col. Mark Kelly, chief of staff for the Australian-led
\npeacekeeping force known as Interfet, said his troops would
\nprovide protection for the bishop.<\/p>\n
Belo is the first major figure to return to the territory.
\nResistance leader Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao has set his
\nhomecoming for mid-October.<\/p>\n
People who have returned from their hideouts in the hills
\nsurrounding Dili have started clearing debris from their ruined
\nhouses and rebuilding their devastated hometown.<\/p>\n
A Dili native, Fabliano dos Santos, told The Jakarta Post by
\nphone on Wednesday that some of the residents found decomposed
\nbodies dumped in ditches while clearing up their properties. But
\nhe did not elaborate when and where these finds took place.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue the clearance of our town, while expecting
\nto discover more bodies. I believe the incoming UN High
\nCommission on Human Rights mission will find a lot of bodies,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Like many other East Timorese who descended from hills,
\nFabliano has occupied a house which was left vacant by its owner.
\nFabliano's house in Fatuhada subdistrict in the western part of
\nDili was burned down during the rampaging violence last month.<\/p>\n
UNTAET<\/p>\n
From Sydney, AFP quoted Australian Foreign Minister Alexander
\nDowner as saying that the country planned to scale back its
\ncontribution to international peacekeeping duties in East Timor
\nas the UN took over the running.<\/p>\n
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recommended on Tuesday the
\nestablishment of a major UN military and civilian operation as
\npart of a plan to shepherd East Timor to independence in two to
\nthree years.<\/p>\n
He proposed a UN Transitional Administration in East Timor
\n(UNTAET) to include almost 9,000 troops with strong powers as
\nwell as 200 military observers and more than 1,500 police.<\/p>\n
Australia now has 3,500 troops in East Timor out of a force
\ncurrently totaling 4,600, but building up to 7,500 with
\ncontributions from New Zealand, Britain, France, Canada, the
\nUnited States, Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and South
\nKorea.<\/p>\n
\"It is certainly the view of the Australian government that we
\nwould like to see the move to the fully fledged United Nations
\npeacekeeping operation as soon as possible,\" Downer said.<\/p>\n
\"It is hard to predict when that will happen but conceivably
\nthat could be in two or three months, perhaps nearer three than
\ntwo months.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a first contingent of troops from Thailand, the
\nsecond in command of Interfet, arrived in Dili on Wednesday. The
\n78 troops flew in to the East Timor capital on two C-130 Hercules
\ntransporter planes from Darwin, northern Australia.<\/p>\n
The contingent included the second in command of the force
\nMaj. Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara, a Thai army spokesman in Bangkok
\ntold AFP. Thailand is contributing some 1,581 troops to the
\nmission.<\/p>\n
Thai soldiers had taken up positions in Dili by late
\nafternoon, witnesses said.<\/p>\n
With security conditions in the former Portuguese colony
\nshowing improvement, the government will start on Friday the
\nrepatriation of East Timorese seeking refuge in West Timor.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the East Nusa Tenggara administration, Nani
\nKosapilawan, told Antara in Kupang that seven Cabinet ministers,
\n12 ambassadors of neighboring countries and representatives of
\nsome international nongovernmental organizations would see off
\nthe refugees.<\/p>\n
Kosapilawan said the foreign envoys and international NGO
\nstaff were invited to the event and could expect to witness
\nthemselves what actually will happen to the refugees. (33\/amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/two-militiamen-killed-in-east-timor-clashes-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}