East Timor: suspected militia dies in clash with UN peacekeepers
4 December -- United Nations peacekeepers have shot and killed a suspected militia member in East Timor, following a day-long search for the pro-Indonesia militia who fired last Friday on two Australian UN soldiers, wounding one.
According to the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), two suspected militia men approached a battalion of Australian troops last Saturday south of Balibo, near the border with Indonesia. When the militia were discovered by the peacekeepers, shots were fired and one suspect was killed while the other escaped. The UN force suffered no casualties.
The UN troop wounded in the 1 December shooting near Balibo is being treated in the UN military hospital in Dili, where he remains in "stable condition," UNTAET said.
In other news, an extraordinary meeting of East Timor's Cabinet will be held on 9 December to discuss grievances put forward by its members in regard to their functions. The meeting, to be chaired by UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello, follows a threat to resign by four of the five East Timorese Cabinet members.
In a letter dated 1 December, the members complained about a lack of power and resources, stating that they were ready to resign on 15 December unless the legal status of the East Timor Transitional Administration was clearly defined, as well as its institutional relations with the UN mission.
