U.N. workers evacuated from West Timor after 3 killed

Mobs attack U.N. mission in Indonesia

From staff and wire reports

ATAMBUA, Indonesia (CNN) -- At least three United Nations staff members were killed on Wednesday when East Timorese refugees and pro-Indonesia militia went on a rampage in a West Timor border town, destroying two U.N. offices and throwing humanitarian efforts into tumult.

Four U.N. peacekeeping helicopters, including two gunships, flew into Indonesian-ruled West Timor late Wednesday and evacuated some 50 U.N. personnel from Atambua, CNN Correspondent Atika Shubert reported.

Shubert said that the attack on the U.N. mission appeared to target two agencies -- the U.N. High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Office of Migration -- that have been working to facilitate the return of refugees to East Timor.

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Thousands of East Timorese fled across the border a year ago during a wave of militia violence -- backed by elements of the Indonesian military -- following East Timor's overwhelming vote for independence.

Timor, an island of Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province, was split during the colonial occupation of the Indonesian islands. Dutch spice traders held the western portion of the island, while the Portuguese claimed the east.

Indonesia proclaimed independence from the Netherlands in 1945, but East Timor remained under Portuguese control until 1975, when the European rulers abruptly moved out. Indonesia quickly invaded the territory, prompting a 25-year resistance movement that culminated in last year's referendum.

Increasing attacks on U.N. staff

Indonesia has been under intense pressure to shut down the refugee camps in West Timor since U.N. peacekeepers took control of the situation in East Timor, but the militias have vowed a violent reaction to any forced repatriation.

UNHCR spokesman Jake Morland, in the West Timorese capital Kupang, said Wednesday's attack may have been precipitated by the recent anniversary of East Timor's historic vote for independence and the shooting death on Tuesday of a militia leader.

"This is not the first time UNHCR workers have been singled out by these militia groups," Morland said. "(But) this is the worst attack on humanitarian workers so far."

Militia activity in the area has been on the rise, Shubert reported, including several attacks across the border in East Timor in which at least two U.N. peacekeepers died.

Morland said 90 other UNHCR staff in West Timor were on standby for possible evacuation in case the violence spread throughout the province, but said that for the time being the situation in Kupang was secure.

Camps reputed bases for militia activity

About 250,000 East Timorese fled for dozens of border refugee camps in West Timor a year ago to escape violence by Indonesian troops and their militia allies who opposed the U.N.-supervised vote for East Timor's independence.

The violence continued until international peacekeepers landed in East Timor on September 20. Since then, nearly 170,000 refugees have returned from West Timor.

The remaining ones, many of them former Indonesian soldiers or civil servants, continue to live in the unsanitary camps.

The United Nations and other international officials complain that anti-independence militiamen are using the West Timor camps as border incursion bases and safe havens. Under pressure to stop escalating border violence, Indonesia has repeatedly promised to close the camps.

The latest violence coincides with a visit to the United Nations in New York by Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid for this week's Millennium Summit.

CNN Jakarta Producer Atika Shubert and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Political Resources on the Net - East Timor
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  • U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor
East Timor Action Network U.S.
CIA World Factbook: Indonesia
Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights
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