Interfet clarifies 'hot-pursuit' policy

Interfet clarifies 'hot-pursuit' policy

DILI, East Timor (Agencies): International forces in East Timor on Saturday reserved the right to return fire into West Timor if under attack from across the border.

But a spokesman for the force striving to restore order to East Timor suggested foreign troops would stop short of pursuing militias into the neighboring Indonesian-ruled province.

"Our mandate is quite clear. We're here to provide security in East Timor. That task actually stops at the border," Col. Mark Kelly told reporters in the East Timorese capital, Dili.

The international force (Interfet) has a UN mandate to quell the bloodshed that engulfed East Timor after it voted overwhelmingly on August 30 for independence from Indonesia.

But the pro-Indonesia militias responsible for much of the violence have retreated into West Timor since the Australian-led force arrived in Dili on Sept. 20. There are now fears the militias plan to mount cross-border raids.

"We do not pursue across the border...," Kelly said.

"If we find that we actually have Interfet soldiers being attacked by indirect fire, that is by mortars or artillery (from across the border), it would be within our mandate to prosecute that offensive fire to protect our force."

This week, Australia's defense minister said Interfet might cross into West Timor if in hot pursuit of militia, prompting an angry demand from Jakarta for clarification. Australia's premier on Friday played down his minister's comment.

Interfet on Saturday pushed into the western area of Bobonaro in East Timor as humanitarian relief efforts widened, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, AFP reported that 16 more bodies were found here as the United Nations announced Saturday that several members of a human rights inquiry team would arrive shortly.

"I now understand that five people will be coming here next week to head that investigation," UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) spokesman David Wimhurst told reporters here.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has announced an inquiry into abuses committed under Indonesian rule in East Timor this year.

Wimhurst could not provide more details Saturday on the makeup of the team which will begin looking at the allegations of abuse.

He said another 13 unburied bodies had been discovered in a small village just west of Dili. Ten were burned in a truck, one female was found dead near a house, and two other corpses were found in a shallow grave, UNAMET said.

"Interfet and Civpol (UNAMET civilian police) are conducting a preliminary investigation," Wimhurst said.

Over recent days more than 34 bodies have been found in the Dili area. The total includes three discovered by an AFP reporter on Saturday.

One was found in an abandoned house with a broken roof. The bones of the dead man lay behind a door flanked by a large mural of Christ. The skull and a limb had been severed from the backbone.

Outside, another man, who residents said was shot dead the same day, lay buried in the yard under a pile of rocks. The house in Balide district is about 500 meters from the UNAMET headquarters.

Antonio Mojaku, who lives behind the abandoned house identified the bones as belonging to Markoli, 73, a neighborhood resident.

He said Geronimo Joaquin Galucio was buried out front.

Pro-Indonesian militias were seen on the street outside the house before both men were shot in the back and dragged into the home, said Arsenio Florindo da Costa, 23. His aunt witnessed the murders sometime around September 14, he said.

What appeared to be a trail of blood ran up the front steps and across the porch. A brown stain splattered the lower part of the door and inside a smear covered the tiled floor and led to a pile of ashes.

"We don't know what happened inside. They locked the doors, but we saw smoke," Da Costa said.

Mojaku said the older man's body was cut up.

A short distance away from the two bodies, AFP found another stinking corpse inside an underground pit.

The corpse in the village of Maskarenas appeared to have no head.

The commander of the multinational security force in East Timor said Saturday his men were not equipped to deal with atrocities and renewed an appeal for the speedy dispatch of more civilian police.

"They are the most gruesome evidence of atrocities," Major General Peter Cosgrove said. "Then there are the wealth of allegations, and chasing those down is a full-time job.

"We haven't got enough experts but no military force ever will."