Ninjas enter court in Dili

Ninjas enter court in Dili

DILI, East Timor: The district court opened the trial of 10 people charged with vandalizing residential property and waging terror campaigns.

The accused, mostly gang members, swarmed the streets of Dili earlier this year terrorizing pro-independence sympathizers. Townspeople nicknamed them "ninja" because they wore black hoods and masks during their raids.

But the local military authorities dismissed the widely reported "ninja" scare as "rumor" spread to discredit the government.

Prosecutors charged in separate sessions yesterday that the defendants spread the ninja rumors, vandalized vehicles, pelted stones at houses and disturbed security.

Court officials told journalists that the men are facing criminal charges and that no political motives were involved. (yac)