Agence France-Presse

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Second East Timorese dies after Dili clash with Australian soldiers

A second East Timorese civilian died Saturday from injuries sustained in a clash with Australian troops in the capital Dili, the Australian Defence Force said.

An East Timorese youth died Friday at the scene of the clash at a refugee camp near Dili's Comoro Airport and a third was being treated for injuries at Dili Hospital, the ADF said.

The ADF said a group of Australian soldiers, in East Timor as part of an international peacekeeping force, was responding to a disturbance at the refugee camp when the shootings took place Friday morning.

"ADF soldiers were attacked with steel arrows, which are potentially lethal weapons," the ADF said in a statement.

"On two occasions during the incident, ADF soldiers were required to defend themselves by firing at the attackers."

The ADF said it regretted any incident involving loss of life and the shootings were being investigated by the International Security Force (ISF) and United Nations police trying to bring peace to the tiny nation.

The deaths come amid attempts to clamp down on a recent resurgence of street violence in the East Timorese capital that left seven UN police officers injured Wednesday and led to 148 arrests.

The violence, mostly between youths belonging to rival martial arts gangs, is some of the worst to hit Dili since major unrest in April and May last year left 37 dead.

The UN has deployed some 1,300 police to help restore order, backed by the Australian-led ISF of about 1,000 troops.

------------------------------------------ Joyo Indonesia News Service

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