Gun battles near East Timor's capital: 2 killed, 9 wounded

Fighting between dismissed soldiers and the military left at least two people dead in East Timor on Tuesday, as Australia and New Zealand offered to provide troops to the tiny nation to help restore calm. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said the violence broke out after disgruntled ex-soldiers tried to ambush troops in the hilly outskirts of the capital, some as they headed to a bank to pick up their pay and others at a checkpoint.

Photo: Gun battles near East Timor's capital: 2 killed, 9 wounded

Volleys of gunfire were heard in several parts of Dili throughout the day. East Timor has been plagued by unrest since the dismissal earlier this year of nearly 600 soldiers a third of the entire army after they went on strike, complaining of discrimination and poor working conditions. The ex-soldiers, who threatened to wage guerrilla warfare unless they were reinstated, fled Dili last month and bunkered down in the hills surrounding the city after deadly riots broke out.

Alkatiri said at least one solider was killed early Tuesday and that five government forces and a policeman were wounded, some seriously. Dr. Liborio Alves, director of a state-run hospital east of the capital, said a renegade soldier also died and that two others were injured, one with a gunshot wound to his stomach.

Australia, which led a U.N.-military force into East Timor after its bloody push for independence from Indonesia in 1999, warned its citizens against traveling to the world's youngest nation, saying the situation was "extremely dangerous." Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told lawmakers in Canberra, that his government was readying naval vessels, aircraft and troops to enable a rapid response.

"We've made it clear that we are ready to offer assistance to East Timor if it's needed," he said, adding the military could also help with evacuations. New Zealand also said a platoon of about 30 troops was on standby for deployment to East Timor. At the heart of the conflict are the former soldiers' claims that they were being discriminated against because they came from the west of the small country, while the military leadership originates from the east. Army Chief of Staff Col. Lere Anan Timor vowed to capture the renegade soldiers "dead or alive."

A government commission was established this month to investigate the ex-soldiers' allegations of discrimination, but has yet to release results. East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in August 1999 after 24 years of brutal occupation that human rights groups say left as many as 200,000 dead, reports the AP.

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