UN troops struggle to control violence in East Timor

HUNDREDS of foreign troops struggled to keep East Timor from tipping into civil war yesterday amid widening violence, including a mob attack that killed six relatives of a government minister and set his house ablaze.

A small contingent of US Marines flew in to provide security for the American Embassy. Indonesia sealed its border with East Timor to prevent the conflict between the army and renegade troops from spilling over as it drew in police officers, machete-wielding youths and ordinary citizens.

The death toll from four days of violence climbed to 23 after a mob attacked a house belonging to Home Affairs Minister Rogerio Lobato, smashing its windows and splashing it with gasoline before setting it ablaze.

His relatives killed in the attack on Thursday included two young children and three teenagers, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said in a television address. Their charred bodies were discovered yesterday.

Mr Lobato was not inside during the attack, which also hit nearby houses.

Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said he believed the issues that triggered the violence were “still capable of resolution”.

“Despite our situation, I have continued to talk to all aggrieved parties in the hope we all can find a lasting, peaceful solution,” Mr Horta said in a statement.

Members of the country’s 800-member army attacked the national police headquarters on Thursday, accusing police of allying themselves with a large band of dismissed soldiers who have engaged in street battles with the military in Dili.

After an hour, UN police and military advisers negotiated a ceasefire under which the police were to surrender their weapons and leave the building.

However, as the unarmed police were escorted out, “army soldiers opened fire on them”, killing 10 and wounding 26 others, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Two of the UN advisers were injured, Mr Dujarric said.

The unrest in East Timor is the most serious threat to the desperately poor country since it won independence from Indonesia in 1999.

The attack on policemen illustrated the dangers facing peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia, the first of whom arrived on Thursday.

The UN, which spent millions of dollars training East Timor’s army and setting up the country, urged the government to take “all necessary steps” to end the violence.