TNI identifies peacekeeper's suspected killer

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) is searching for Jacobus Bere, who is suspected of killing a New Zealand member of the United Nations peacekeeping force in East Timor in July, an officer said on Wednesday.

The head of the Udayana Military Command overseeing Nusa Tenggara and Bali, Maj. Gen. Kiki Sjahnakrie, told The Jakarta Post by phone that a group of TNI soldiers wounded Jacobus during an exchange of gunfire following a raid on a group of criminals in the West Timor village of Nanoe, near the border with East Timor, on Friday last week.

"Unfortunately, the troops failed to capture Jacobus, who escaped into the forest near the location," Kiki said, adding that the TNI soldiers took into custody three of Jacobus' associates during the raid.

The New Zealand peacekeeper, Pvt. Leonard Manning, was shot dead when he and other New Zealand troops were tracking a group of unidentified armed men in the rugged East Timor town of Fato Mean, about two kilometers from the Indonesian border.

Kiki denied that Jacobus was a prointegration militia member. "He is a criminal from West Timor who is trying to benefit from the tension along the border," he said.

The TNI soldiers found Manning's rifle near the site where Friday's clash took place. (02)