UN peacekeepers clash with militia in E. Timor<\/p>\n
DILI (Agencies): Australian peacekeepers exchanged fire with
\narmed militia in the East Timor border area on Tuesday, the eve
\nof the anniversary of the territory's independence vote, senior
\nUN officials said.<\/p>\n
No casualties were reported on either side, Lt. Col. Brynjar
\nNymo, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force, told AFP here.
\nNymo said an Australian patrol spotted \"two individuals in
\ncamouflage (uniforms), at least one of them with a rifle,\" and
\nchallenged them.<\/p>\n
\"The militia fired and the Australians returned fire,\" he
\nsaid, adding the incident took place about 12:40 p.m. (11:40 a.m.
\nJakarta time), some 10 kilometers northeast of the township of
\nMaliana.<\/p>\n
Maliana lies 75 kilometers southwest of Dili.<\/p>\n
Earlier Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the UN
\ntransitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) told AFP the
\nmilitia had pointed weapons at the Australians.<\/p>\n
De Mello warned that peacekeepers would take tough action
\nagainst pro-Jakarta militiamen roaming the territory if they
\nrefuse to lay down their weapons.<\/p>\n
He said he hoped some of the estimated 120 militiamen
\noperating in East Timor would surrender soon and go back to their
\nvillages.<\/p>\n
UN military officials say the pro-Jakarta militias, possibly
\nsupported by rogue elements of the Indonesian military in
\nneighboring West Timor, have entered East Timor in greater force
\nthan at any time since they were forced out by the arrival of
\nforeign troops late last year.<\/p>\n
De Mello on Tuesday had said in a televised interview with
\nAustralian media that he would press Indonesian leaders this week
\nto take immediate action against militias still terrorizing the
\nEast Timorese.<\/p>\n
De Mello also said UN forces would launch a leaflet drop on
\nTuesday to advise any militia in East Timor to surrender or face
\narrest within weeks.<\/p>\n
\"We hope finally the Indonesian government will take the
\naction we have been expecting from them since we arrived here in
\nOctober of last year, which is to disarm them, to disband them,
\nto arrest them and to transfer them away from our borders,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The inviolability of international borders is a sacrosanct
\nprinciple of international law which the militia are violating
\nbecause they are thugs and because they have nothing else to
\noffer except the language of force and violence,\" he told
\nAustralian television.<\/p>\n
He said UN forces estimated there are 100 to 150 militia men
\nin East Timor where they have killed or wounded a number of UN
\npersonnel in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
\"We are attempting to establish what their intentions are. We
\nhope that some if not many of them will agree to lay down their
\narms and surrender.<\/p>\n
UN peacekeepers have stepped up patrols in the border areas of
\nEast Timor in anticipation they will try to stage dramatic
\nincidents to derail festivities set for Wednesday to celebrate
\nthe first anniversary of East Timor's vote to separate from
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 30, 1999, an overwhelming 78.5 percent of East
\nTimorese voted for independence, the announcement of which on
\nSept. 4 unleashed a wave of violence against East Timorese.<\/p>",
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