E. Timor militia gang shoots UN peacekeepers
E. Timor militia gang shoots UN peacekeepers
DILI, East Timor (AP): Four Nepalese UN peacekeepers and a civilian were injured after being shot at late Thursday while searching for a renegade militia gang in East Timor, a spokesman said.
The Nepalese troops were patrolling an area 30 kilometers from the West Timor border when they were involved in a firefight with the suspected militia they had been tracking.
"We don't have confirmation whether they were ambushed by the militia gang or if an exchange of fire took place," said Norwegian Col. Brynjar Nymo, a spokesman for the peacekeepers.
The attack occurred in an area where a band of up to 30 militiamen had been reported near the town of Zumalai, 110 kilometers southwest of Dili.
Two of the blue beret soldiers and an unknown civilian were treated on the spot and at a military hospital in the southern town of Suai. Nymo confirmed the civilian was not a militia member.
Two more peacekeepers were flown to Dili for urgent medical treatment. One was in serious condition with gunshot wounds.
Australian-led international troops landed in the half-island territory to restore peace and security after Indonesian military-backed militias went on a rampage of destruction and killing following an overwhelming vote by East Timorese for independence from Indonesia 11 months ago.
A New Zealand soldier shot in the head during a clash with militia on July 24 was the first peacekeeper to be killed in fighting in East Timor.
The territory was annexed by Indonesia 25 years ago as colonial power Portugal retreated.
The United Nations is administering East Timor in its transition to independence. A UN peacekeeping force took control of the territory's security in February.
Meanwhile, a rifle shot which accidentally killed an Australian soldier in East Timor may have been fired when the gun fell as a patrol passed over rough terrain, authorities said on Thursday.
Cpl. Stuart Jones, 27, died late Wednesday after the weapon accidentally discharged during a UN peacekeeping patrol near the town of Maliana, close to the border between East and West Timor, UN and Australian military authorities said.
Jones was one of six Australian soldiers traveling in an armored personnel carrier back to base after completing a foot patrol in the mountainous border region, Col. Greg Baker, head of the Australian force in East Timor, told reporters in Timor.
Jones died while being flown by helicopter to a hospital in Dili. His body was flown back to Australia on Thursday, after a short ceremony at Dili's Comoro Airport.