UN troops kill Timor militiaman

A peacekeeper was killed last week near the border

By Jakarta correspondent Richard Galpin

United Nations peacekeepers in East Timor have shot dead a suspected pro-Jakarta militiaman in a gun battle near the border with West Timor.

Another gunman was injured in the firefight with Australian troops.

The incident comes just a week after a UN peacekeeper from New Zealand was killed by suspected militiamen in the border area.

According to an Australian military spokesman, up to five militiamen, armed with automatic weapons and grenades, were found at least 15km inside East Timorese territory, presumably after crossing the border from Indonesian-controlled West Timor.

Trail of blood

The Australian troops, part of the UN peacekeeping force, had been tipped off about their presence by the local population.

International troops were deployed in East Timor last September

In the firefight that followed, one of the militiamen was killed and another injured.

An Australian military spokesman said their troops were still trying to track down the rest of the group and that they had been following a trail of blood.

UN reinforcements have been flown in by helicopter to help the search operation.

Refugee camps

This is the third shooting incident near the border between West and East Timor in a week.

It comes just days after the Indonesian government promised to close down all the refugee camps in West Timor.

The camps harbour many of the pro-Jakarta militia gangs responsible for much of the violence which followed last year's independence vote in East Timor.

Many countries have demanded that Jakarta take immediate action to separate the militia gangs from the tens of thousands of refugees who have been living in the camps since last September.

Although the Indonesian Government says it will close down the camps completely, it has not given any date.

Even if they are closed down, the government is unlikely to stop the militia gangs crossing into East Timor to attack the UN peacekeepers and local population.