The Jakarta Post

October 30, 2006

RI-TIMOR LESTE BORDERLINE TIGHTENED

Soldiers stationed at the Indonesia-Timor Leste border have intensified security along the southern part of Belu regency in East Nusa Tenggara to prevent trespassing by insurgents from the newly established country

Commander of the Indonesian Border Security Troops, Col. Ediwan Prabowo, said security was being intensified in an area adjacent to Timor Leste's Kovalima district where insurgents together with their leader Maj. Alfredo Reinado had been hiding

Ediwan said that based on information from the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UPF) in Timor Leste, Alfredo Reinado and his men were believed to be hiding in the kampongs of Fatululik, Fatutean and Sibuare

However, the possibility of Alfredo and his subordinates fleeing to the Indonesian part of West Timor was very remote, Ediwan said

"The UPF is currently holding routine patrols in the kampongs to hunt down Alfredo and friends...but they have not captured them," he said

Ediwan explained that the intensified security was necessary to prevent Alfredo from trespassing into Indonesian territory

"Up to 1,250 soldiers have been deployed to strengthen security at the border," he said

Timor Leste has been plagued by instability since rival security forces clashed in the capital in April and May after the government dismissed a third of the members of the armed forces. The violence killed 37 people and drove some 155,000 from their homes

A wave of violence continued in the troubled nation's capital where two men were hacked to death with machetes, a hospital official said Friday

The bodies were taken by UN police to Dili's National Hospital, which performed the autopsies Friday, said supervisor Zony Santos. It was unclear exactly when the men died, although they were believed to have been killed late Thursday or early Friday

At least eight people have died and more than 50 have been wounded in clashes between rival gangs in Timor Leste since last weekend

The scale of the unrest -- involving 200 to 300 people in the fighting -- has led UN officials to suggest the bloodshed may be planned

"These incidents of fighting over the last few days have involved quite large numbers," said UN spokesman Adrian Edwards, as quoted by the Associated Press

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang