Peacekeepers brought in after fresh violence in East Timor

10-22-2006, 08h43
DILI (AFP)

Australian soldiers are seen here patrolling the streets of Dili in East Timor last month. Foreign peacekeepers were brought in to restore order to East Timor's capital on Sunday when fighting broke out between rival ethnic gangs after the discovery of two mutilated bodies.
(AFP/file)

Foreign peacekeepers were brought in to restore order to East Timor's capital when fighting broke out between rival ethnic gangs after the discovery of two mutilated bodies.

The fighting, involving stone throwing between two groups of youths, took place at the Comoro market but was halted by the arrival of about 100 foreign police personnel, according to AFP reporters at the scene. No arrests were made.

The violence is a reminder of the chaos that gripped the tiny country, one of the world's poorest, in May after large sections of the military deserted complaining of discrimination.

Youths from the eastern part of the tiny country, one of the world's poorest, were incensed after bodies of two men from the Baucau and Los Palos districts were found with their arms, legs and heads removed and placed in sacks.

The two were believed to have been killed after approaching a checkpoint set up by the western group in Dili's Aimutin area.

"We just cannot accept that our friends were killed like animals, like dogs," said Joao da Costa, 21, a member of the eastern district group which set up a checkpoint of its own near the market.

A UN police member, Emir Bilget, speaking through an interpreter, asked the youths to take down the blockade of stones and wood and trust the police to investigate.

"I hope you calm down. The police already know who killed your frieds and now we are seeking for testimonies from you so that the perpetrators can be dragged to court," Bilget said.

Australian soldiers also arrived on the spot and immediately combed the area.

They aborted an attempt to detain one man there after ferocious protests from youths shouting, "Australia go out, Australian no good, not neutral," the AFP reporters said.

Australian-led peacekeepers were deployed in East Timor in May but they have struggled to contain sporadic eruptions of violence since then. UN police from New Zealand and Malaysia have also been deployed.

The latest fighting follows tit-for-tat murders earlier this month which claimed one youth from the east and another from the west.

Nota:

O grupo anti-motim da Malásia foi chamado a intervir, mas não conseguiu acalmar os jovens. A GNR foi então chamada ao local apesar da área de Comoro ser agora da responsabilidade da unidade da Malásia. A população só acalmou com a chegada da GNR.

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