First UN peacekeeper killed in combat in East Timor
24 July -- In the first combat-related death of a United Nations peacekeeper in East Timor, a soldier from the UN mission's New Zealand contingent was killed today following an exchange of gunfire with an armed group near the border with West Timor.
According to a UN spokesman in New York, Private Leonard William Manning died of gunshot wounds after a New Zealand tracking team investigating reports of activity by an armed group north-west of the town of Suai, encountered a group of armed men about eight kilometres west of Fahorem.
The UN troops and the armed men - who have yet to be identified -- exchanged fire around 10:45 a.m. local time, and the UN patrol withdrew from the area, spokesman Fred Eckhard said, adding that the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was investigating the incident.
According to Mr. Eckhard, the UN Force Commander, Lieutenant General Boonsrang Niumprabipdit, called the death of Private Manning "a tragic loss" and extended his condolences on behalf of all members of the UNTAET peacekeeping force.
The slain soldier's body will be flown back to New Zealand within the next few days, the spokesman said.
In other developments, UNTAET reported today that a team from the Indonesian Attorney General's office has travelled to Suai with investigators from UNTAET's Human Rights Unit to interview witnesses of last September's Suai church massacre. Yesterday, the team visited massacre sites in Dili and Liquica.
The UN mission also announced that it had selected 3,000 primary school teachers and that their allocation to schools - based on the number of students per district - would be announced at the end of the week. The teacher allocations for secondary schools are currently being finalized, UNTAET said.
