23 March 2001 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today repatriated more than 200 East Timorese from Kupang, West Timor, back to Dili in the fourth organized return since aid agencies withdrew from the area following the murder of three UNHCR aid workers in Atambua last September.

The refugees were transported on a vessel chartered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). According to the UN peace operation in East Timor (UNTAET), the refugees are mostly from Dili and Same districts.

In addition, 220 refugees returned to East Timor on 21 March by land through Suai district border, UNTAET said.

The number of returns this month has been more than 1,500 people, bringing the total this year to more than 3,500. Since October 1999, some 178,000 East Timorese have returned to their homeland, while an estimated 100,000 still remain in Indonesia.

 

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Not an official document of the United Nations. Maintained by the Peace and Security Section of the Department of Public Information in cooperation with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. (c) United Nations 2001