VIOLENT INCIDENTS AT DILI RESTAURANT AND ANUR MOSQUE

Two international businessmen were arrested by UNTAET’s Civilian Police, following a scuffle outside a restaurant in Dili on New Year’s Eve. About an hour into the New Year, a fight between a Singaporean businessman and a local Falintil commander escalated to a brawl in which at least five people were slightly injured. A gang of an estimated 50 East Timorese gathered outside the restaurant – filled with people celebrating the New Year – and began throwing stones at cars and the front of the restaurant. The situation was brought under control after about an hour. Five United Nations vehicles were damaged. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

In a separate incident, a group of about 40 Timorese, some of them intoxicated, threw stones at the Anur mosque in Dili at around 6.45 a.m. on New Year’s Day. The mosque is home to approximately 200 Muslims and the trouble started after the attackers were denied access to one of the cars belonging to the people residing in the mosque. CivPol arrived at the scene and the crowd dispersed after police fired two warning shots into the air. No arrests have been made as the investigation continues.

MAN SHOT DEAD IN MALIANA

One man was killed and a woman received gunshot injuries to her hand close to the border with Indonesian West Timor yesterday, 1 January 2001. The incident took place at approximately 1.30 a.m. in the village of Nunura, about 15 km west of Maliana, when an Australian peacekeeper at a nearby sentry post reported hearing short bursts of automatic rifle fire. Peacekeeping troops swept through the area and secured the incident site. They found a Timorese man dead and provided medical assistance to the injured woman who was evacuated to Maliana hospital. The motive or identity of the attackers has not yet been determined. A CivPol team has been dispatched to Nunura to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.