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Militants spread death, fear as East Timor crisis worsens

A rift between opposing regions threatens to spiral into civil war; more than 20 die in the latest violence.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 28, 2006

DILI, East Timor - Youths with machetes, slingshots and spears rampaged across East Timor's capital Saturday, attacking people, burning houses and deepening a crisis that has sent thousands fleeing in terror despite the deployment of foreign troops.

With chaos spreading, the United Nations said it would relocate employees' families and nonessential staff to Darwin, Australia.

The violence raised worries that one of the world's youngest nations is plunging into civil war seven years after its break from 24 years of occupation by Indonesia.

Festering distrust between Timorese who supported independence and those who didn't fueled a months-long dispute between the military leadership and 600 renegade soldiers that exploded in this week's violence. The soldiers - nearly half the army - were fired in March after striking over complaints of poor working conditions and discrimination.

After engaging in deadly riots last month, the dismissed soldiers fled the seaside capital to set up camp in the surrounding hills and threatened guerrilla war if they weren't reinstated.

They ambushed troops in the capital Tuesday, setting off three days of gunbattles that led the government to request foreign help. Hundreds of peacekeepers from Australia and Malaysia began arriving Thursday to take up positions around Dili, but violence was unabated.

On Saturday, gangs of youths roamed through neighborhoods, smashing windows, torching cars and houses and attacking people in the streets with machetes, slingshots and spears. Sporadic gunfire crackled after sunset and flames glowed in the night sky.

The violence had killed 23 people and injured dozens. Seven people were reported wounded Saturday, though the toll was likely higher.

The general population has split between those with ties to the western part of the country, which borders Indonesia and has perceived sympathies to the former ruler, and those allied with the east, which favored independence.

"The west and the east, they want to fight. They are enemies from long ago. Now they are trying to provoke each other," Anim, a mother of four, said as she prepared for a night in a refugee camp at the U.N. headquarters.

The dismissed soldiers are largely from the west, the military leadership from the east. Many of the renegade soldiers claim they were denied promotions and coveted assignments because of discrimination.

Australian troops patrolled on foot, in armored vehicles and in Black Hawk helicopters trying to calm the city Saturday. The soldiers disarmed one group of 40 young men, but other gangs were on the loose.

[Last modified May 28, 2006, 05:35:22]