No injuries reported in an attack on UN peacekeepers in East Timor
21 June -- A group of armed men has attacked peacekeepers of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), causing damage to buildings but no injuries, the UN mission said today in the capital Dili.
According to UNTAET, an infantry position of the peacekeeping force came under attack shortly after midnight on 20 June from "what appeared to have been a small group of armed men." The incident - in which the attackers fired automatic and semi-automatic weapons and threw six grenades - occurred at Aidabasalala, approximately 30 kilometres from the border with West Timor.
"The fire appeared uncoordinated, delivered from some distance and was not a serious risk to the peacekeepers due to the fortified positions," UNTAET said in a statement. The peacekeepers did not fire back out of concern for the surrounding villagers.
In other news from Dili, the UN mission and the Council of National Timorese Resistance (CNRT) have agreed on a new composition and structure for the territory's main decision-making body - the National Consultative Council (NCC).
The 33 members - all East Timorese - will include 13 representatives from the districts, seven representatives from CNRT parties and three representatives from other political parties. Its other members will represent youth, women's and NGO groups, as well as the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim communities, professional and farmers' associations, the labour movement and the business community.
Meanwhile in Portugal, the Donors' Council of the World Bank administered Trust Fund for East Timor held its meeting today in Lisbon to confirm a work programme for East Timor's reconstruction and development from July to December 2000. Also in Lisbon the World Bank and UNTAET are co-chairing a donors' conference from 21 to 23 June to discuss resource mobilization for East Timor's civil service and for UNTAET. The meeting, which is hosted by Portugal, will also review the plans set forth at the Tokyo meeting of donors in December 1999.
"The Lisbon meetings present an opportunity for the international community to identify strengths and weaknesses early in the process and move forward together in support of the Timorese people," the Resident Representative of the World Bank in East Timor, Sarah Cliffe, said in a statement issued today by the World Bank.
