29 November -- The United Nations mission in East Timor today reported that violence against suspected members of the militia was on the rise.
The brother of one militia leader was found dead last week, with his hands tied and signs that he had been tortured. Three houses of suspected militia members were also burned to the ground.
Meanwhile, the remaining bodies discovered last week in a West Timor mass grave were returned over the weekend to East Timor, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said today in New York. The 23 persons believed to be victims of the Suai massacre were buried on Monday at a memorial service in Dili. None of the victims could be positively identified.
"Together with the three priests, whose bodies were returned at the end of last week, this puts at 26 the number of victims discovered so far at a site in West Timor that was excavated by the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights," Mr. Eckhard said.
In other news, Sergio de Mello, the head of the UN Mission, left for a three-day visit to Australia to follow-up discussions he had yesterday in East Timor with Australian Prime Minister John Howard on the possibility of Australia providing customs officers and forensic experts.
