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East Timor fighting eases

Posted on: Thursday, 25 May 2006, 18:19 CDT

By Lirio da Fonseca

DILI (Reuters) - Fierce fighting in East Timor eased as Australian commandos secured the main airport in the young nation ahead of the arrival of hundreds more troops on Friday, Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said.

Fighting, sparked by the East Timorese government's decision to sack almost half the country's military after they went on strike to protest poor conditions, worsened on Thursday when at least nine people were killed and 27 wounded.

The deaths came when army elements attacked the Dili police headquarters and, after a negotiated ceasefire, opened fire on unarmed police being escorted out, a U.N. spokesman said.

At least six people had been killed in the East Timorese capital Dili before Thursday after protests by the sacked military policemen late last month spiraled into violent clashes with government troops.

"With the 220 or so soldiers we already have on the ground a significant degree of stability has come to East Timor and Dili overnight. Over the next 24 to 48 hours you will see the remainder of the 1,300 troops being deployed roll out," Nelson told Australian radio on Friday.

"I fully anticipate that will have a calming effect ... but in the end if we do see people who are not responding to lawful requests from Australian Defense Force personnel we will use whatever level of force is required to see that they are disarmed and do not threaten the life and safety of innocent people."

Nelson said the rules of engagement for the mission were agreed with the East Timorese government overnight.

ANNAN SENDING ENVOY

East Timor, which shares a land border with Indonesia's West Timor, became the world's newest nation in 2002 after a bloody 1999 vote to break free from nearly 25 years of Indonesian rule.

East Timor, which is one of the world's poorest countries but has potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves, requested international help to quell the violence on Wednesday.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement on Thursday in Hanoi that he was sending a special envoy to Dili to assess the situation.

Annan had requested urgent U.N. Security Council approval for military assistance, but the council put off action after Russia argued more information was needed, diplomats said.

Australia is sending 1,300 troops into Dili and New Zealand is sending two military aircraft and some troops to the northern city of Darwin to assist with evacuations and troops transport.

Portugal has said it will send 120 military police to help in the security effort. Malaysia has postponed its deployment of 500 military and police personnel. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said it was seeking clarification about the mission.

Australia led a U.N.-backed force in 1999 to quell violence after East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia. An estimated 1,000 people died in that violence, blamed mostly on pro-Jakarta militia backed by Indonesian military elements.

U.N. peacekeepers left a year ago and the U.N. mission of 130 administrators, police and military advisers was scheduled to finish in East Timor on May 20, but its term was extended for a month after the recent riots.

Source: REUTERS

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