UN troops in East Timor arrest armed attacker near Indonesian
7 March 2000 --United Nations troops in East Timor have captured a militia member after an exchange of fire in Atsabe, some 60 kilometers from the border with Indonesia, the UN mission said today in Dili .
During Monday's attack in Ermera District, five militia members fired 15 rounds and the peacekeepers shot back 40 times, according to the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).
The captured militia was brought to Dili today, where he is being questioned by UNTAET's Civilian Police, the UN mission said. The other four militia members escaped.
After the incident, the peacekeepers searched the house where the militia had been hiding and confiscated an automatic rifle, 350 rounds of ammunition, two black T-shirts and two uniforms that resembled those of the Indonesian military.
The UN troops had been sent to Atsabe to investigate Sunday's militia attack in a rice field, where one farmer was killed, one wounded and a third escaped without injury.
Tomorrow, in a meeting with high-ranking Indonesian officials in Jakarta UNTAET will seek action to stop the recent incursions into East Timor and will stress that it is Indonesia's responsibility to halt the attacks, according to the UN mission.
The meeting will be held between UNTAET Commander Jaime de los Santos, the director of the Office of Political Affairs, Peter Galbraith, Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab and other Indonesian senior officials.
In other news, the United Nations has taken concrete steps towards reconstructing and organizing East Timor's health sector through the appointment of a senior official from the World Health Organization (WHO) to head up a new health administration.
Dr. Jim Tulloch, who will oversee the new office, said today that WHO was impressed by the work of East Timorese health professionals who have worked to keep basic services going despite the departure of many workers and the destruction of clinics and hospitals. "But, obviously," he added, "these doctors and nurses are way overstretched and cannot address all of the specialized health needs that exist in the country."
According to WHO, there are only 20 East Timorese doctors in the country of 800,000 inhabitants, or a ratio of 2.5 physicians per 100,000 people. In contrast, Australia counts an estimated 240 doctors per 100,000 people.
