Gunbattles rage in East Timor as ex-soldiers rebel

Fierce gunbattles raged in East Timor’s capital today, killing at least three people and wounding more than a dozen, as Australia and New Zealand sent troops to help the tiny nation quell a rebellion by disgruntled ex-soldiers.

Witnesses said hundreds of foreigners were fleeing the country, and reporters who arrived early today said gunfire along the main road leading to the airport prevented them from entering the capital.

Firefights between the army and dismissed soldiers erupted in several areas around Dili and homes and business were torched. Black plumes of smoke rose over the city. The streets were virtually deserted as residents hid in their homes to escape the bloodshed.

Two former soldiers and an army captain have been killed since late yesterday, said the military and Letnan Gastao Salsinha, a spokesman for the ex-soldiers. Fourteen ex-soldiers were wounded, he said.

The latest deaths bring the total number of people killed in the unrest this week to five. The fighting has prompted the fledgling nation’s government to ask for international troops just days after celebrating the country’s fourth anniversary of independence from Indonesia.

A South Korean man was shot in his neck in the capital of East Timor and is under medical treatment, Yonhap news agency said today.

No details were immediately available. South Korea’s foreign ministry said it was trying to confirm the report.