UN police to beef up patrols in Dili amid increasing unrest
UN police to beef up patrols in Dili amid increasing unrest
DILI, East Timor (DPA): United Nations civilian police in East
Timor said on Friday they would increase security patrols in the
capital Dili following a sudden upsurge in violence, including
several assaults on UN police officers.
"Of course, CivPol is not happy at the level of violence,"
said Commissioner Luis Carrilho, the UN's Portuguese police
spokesman. "In some of these cases we've made arrests - other
arrests are expected. East Timor is a rule-of-law state where no
one is above the law."
The increased foot and vehicle patrols, particularly in the
evenings, follow a spate of violence often involving large gangs
of unemployed youths.
On Tuesday evening, members of a civilian police patrol were
kicked and assaulted in the Dili suburb of Komoro by 60 youths
after being called to investigate an argument near a petrol
station. The gang fled after reinforcements arrived.
Early on Wednesday, police were called to a fire in Komoro in
which two vehicles owned by the UN Transitional Administration in
East Timor were set on fire. No one was injured, and the police
said they expected to make arrests soon.
Later Wednesday morning, a vehicle belonging to the Portuguese
riot police was severely damaged and two police officers injured
when a protest outside Dili University turned violent.
The incident was triggered when the police tried to arrest a
taxi driver for driving down a one-way street. His two
passengers, both believed to be political activists, abused the
police and one tried to grab a police service pistol, Carrilho
said.
In the ensuing struggle, hundreds of university students
poured into the street and stoned the police vehicle and nearby
UN offices. The university's rector later released a statement
warning students not to be "manipulated" by unnamed political
parties.
On Wednesday evening, the Portuguese riot police were called
out again to quell mob violence in the Dili suburb of Becora,
where a group of 80 people armed with pipes, machetes and clubs
was attacking a house. Several people were wounded during the
violence and later admitted to the Red Cross hospital.