Fretilin ambush kills four in East Timor

Fretilin ambush kills four in East Timor

DILI, East Timor (JP): Four people were killed and 24 injured,
five critically, when suspected Fretilin separatist rebels
ambushed a truck of police and soldiers in Baucau on Saturday,
the military said yesterday.

Maj. Gen. A. Rivai, Udayana military chief who oversees
security in East Timor, Bali and Nusa Tenggara, said 13 sustained
burns, five were critically injured and six slightly injured,
Antara reported.

Rivai said the incident happened in Quelikai, 130 kilometers
east of Dili, when about 10 people in army-like uniforms stopped
a truck that carried 26 police officers and two soldiers.

Thinking that the people who stopped the truck were fellow
soldiers, the driver stopped. To their surprise, the strangers
lobbed a grenade and fired at the truck.

Fire quickly engulfed the Hino truck after a drum of reserve
fuel on board caught fire, Rivai said.

"The truck exploded and several people were shot dead when
they tried to escape," he said.

The police officers and soldiers were on their way to Baucau
from Quelikai, where they supervised the May 29 general election.

It was the latest of a flurry of attacks on police and
civilian targets by suspected separatist rebels in the former
Portuguese colony.

On the eve of the May 29 election, about 15 armed rebels
attacked a police station in western Dili. Five of the aggressors
were shot dead and three others were captured, according to
police.

Rivai said that Saturday's attack happened due to a "technical
error" in personnel transportation.

"The standard procedure is that a group of soldiers and police
officers who have completed their duty in overseeing the election
should be escorted by at least two vehicles so that they can
protect each other in case of attack," he said.

Everything would be done to track down the attackers, he said,
adding that no rifle had been seized by the rebels during the
incident. He acknowledged that one gun was damaged.

"I think this is a disaster due to a technical mistake in the
field."

Those with serious injuries were flown to Jakarta, and those
with slight injuries were treated at a local hospital, Rivai
said.

According to Rivai, the attackers fled to a nearby village
when members of the Armed Forces chased them Saturday. He could
not confirm if any of the rebels had been killed or wounded in
the chase.

The military chief said that separatist rebels had been
unsuccessful in their attempt to disrupt the general election.

Despite the recent series of attacks on military and civilian
targets, the election in the youngest province proceeded smoothly
as expected. (05/33)