Brawl in Bacau, one killed

DILI, East Timor: One person was killed and two cars were burned in a fierce brawl in the village of Bucoli, Bacau Kota district, 150 kilometers east of here, Friday.

Alsino da Costa, 29, was killed in the brawl which erupted when the local Golkar group held a musical show in the village.

The death of Alsino angered hundreds of youths, who then set light to official cars belonging to the chairman of the Bacau legislative council and the head of the agriculture office. The officials were attending the Golkar gathering at the time.

The youths visited the regent's official residence the next morning, and demanded the officials be held responsible for Alsino's death.

Alsino, a younger brother of a member of the Bacau military district command, was allegedly beaten to death. Witnesses said no stab wounds were found on his body.

The protesters dispersed after the police Mobile Brigade fired warning shots. Pastor Rui Gomes of the local parish asked the youths to go home.

Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares said yesterday that Alsino was not killed by the military or police officers. "He was allegedly killed by a group of people who are against the government, Golkar and Armed Forces," he said.

He confirmed that two men had been arrested over the fatal brawl. "The men had hidden in the Bacau church, while the church officials turned them into the police," the governor said. (33/sur)