Wednesday, May 24, 2006

East Timor requests foreign troops after clashes

East Timor, world's newest nation, asked for up to 1,000 foreign troops to help quell violence by rebel soldiers.

Some 600 of East Timor's 1,400 soldiers were fired in March after complaints about regional discrimination in promotion. The sacked troops rioted in April with five killed in the incident and 21,000 fleeing their homes to escape the violence.

Loyal East Timor soldiers in firefight with rebel soldiers in Dili earlier this week.
Loyal East Timor soldiers in firefight with rebel soldiers in Dili earlier this week. AFP photo from Yahoo News.

The rebel soldiers are reportedly holed in the town of Aileu near Dili and have conducted several attacks on government troops.

Dili has requested soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, and police from Malaysia and Portugal to help deal with the unrest.




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