6 December -- A United Nations medical team has been dispatched to a West Timor refugee camp to investigate reports of an upsurge in illnesses.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), working with the Indonesian Government, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, sent a 41-member team over the weekend to the refugee camp in Tua Pukan, where local authorities estimate that 170 deaths have occurred since September. Of the total, 35 -- mostly children under five -- were reported to have died during the period 22 November - 1 December.
Since Saturday, team members have been going from house to house identifying those who are sick and moving those who urgently need medical attention to three health outposts.
According to UNHCR, conditions at the camp are appalling. Half the 192 latrines do not work, water sources are contaminated and water that is being trucked in is untreated.
Meanwhile, in a meeting with UNHCR representatives, Indonesian military authorities agreed in principle to separate militias from the refugees. Pro-Indonesia militia leaders also attended the meeting, where they expressed concern about security in East Timor and complained about alleged attacks by Falintil militias against returnees.
