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."