East Timor: militia member killed in clash with UN peacekeepers
25 October -- A militia member has been killed during a clash with United Nations peacekeepers in East Timor, the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) said today in the capital, Dili.
The incident occurred yesterday evening as three militia members approached a New Zealand patrol position seven kilometers northeast of Suai in Cova Lima district, according to the UN mission.
"The peacekeepers initiated a firefight, which left one militia member dead," UNTAET said in a statement. "The remaining withdrew from the scene of the clash. The body of the killed militia member was discovered at first light today."
Yesterday's clash was the latest in a series of confrontations between militia and UN troops near the border with West Timor, Indonesia. In a similar incident, New Zealand soldiers shot dead a militia member on 26 September.
