April 18, 1999
Web posted at: 8:22 p.m. EDT (0022 GMT)

In this story: Government accepts blame for violence Fighting taken a deadly toll Separatists accuse military of backing gangs Media offices, reporters attacked RELATED STORIES, SITES

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Gunshots rang out across East Timor's capital of Dili for a second day Sunday, prompting fears of a civil war in the half-island territory if violence escalates among rival groups.

At least 14 people have been killed since Saturday, when militiamen who want East Timor to remain part of Indonesia launched a bloody rampage against independence activists in Dili.

Newspapers and some Western diplomats in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, estimated the death toll at 20.

Two people were killed Sunday in a clash at a market at Becora, on the eastern outskirts of the town, witnesses said. Police said one person was killed Sunday and at least 13 were killed in violence Saturday.

Frightened residents said paramilitary groups, with military and homemade guns, roamed deserted streets. Most wore red and white headbands, Indonesia's national colors.

Families bolted the doors of their homes. Some guarded their neighborhoods with machetes.

The Indonesian military and senior militia commander Jaoa Tavares said independence activists used attacks and threats to provoke the militiamen. He was quoted by the official Antara news agency as saying continued fighting could "trigger a civil war."

Government accepts blame for violence

Yet earlier in the day a high-ranking official said the Indonesian government accepted blame for the bloody violence.

"It's our responsibility, because we are the only ones here," said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a senior aide to President B.J. Habibie.

"We condemn the act of violence," she added. "We hope that it won't disturb the agenda for next week's meeting of foreign ministers."

The foreign ministers of Indonesia and Portugal will meet in New York on Thursday for U.N.-sponsored talks on a ballot to allow the former Portuguese colony to choose between independence and enhanced autonomy within Indonesia.

Anwar said Indonesia remains committed to a U.N.-brokered peace process.

The killings by the pro-government supporters have sparked international outrage, with most governments blaming Jakarta for failing to control the loyalist militia.

"You have to wonder whether these pro-integration military are not getting some kind of permissive response from the Indonesian army," said Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Fighting taken a deadly toll

More than 200,000 East Timorese -- about a quarter of the population -- have died of fighting, starvation and disease since Indonesia invaded and claimed the territory in the mid- 1970s.

Gang and guerrilla violence has stepped up recently as a potential vote on independence looms. The East Timorese are bitterly divided on the issue.

Indonesia announced in January that it would grant the Timorese independence if they reject a proposal to grant East Timor limited self-rule.

The United Nations plans to hold a vote in July to determine whether the people of East Timor want autonomy within the Indonesian state or full independence. Many fear rising violence could stop the ballot.

Separatists accuse military of backing gangs

Separatists have accused Indonesia's military of training and arming anti-independence paramilitary groups to derail the U.N. peace process.

East Timor's Indonesian military chief, Col. Suhartono Suratman, who has repeatedly denied that charge, said the situation was "under control" on Saturday night. However, he said only five militiamen had been arrested and some weapons confiscated by police.

He said eight people were killed when one militia gang opened fire and threw rocks as it stormed the home of prominent pro-independence politician Manuel Carrascalao, the brother of a former East Timor governor.

They also set ablaze houses of Leandro Isaac and David Ximenes, leaders of the National Council of Resistance of East Timor, or CNRT.

Suratman and witnesses said Carrascalao's teen-age son Manuelito was stabbed to death during the attack.

More than 100 people, many of them displaced villagers who had fled earlier communal violence, had been sheltered in Carrascalao's house. They ran away when the gang smashed doors and windows.

Media offices, reporters attacked

Other militiamen ransacked the offices of the Suara Timor Timur newspaper, which they accused of biased reporting against their cause.

Witnesses said police watched as the gang took away computers and furniture. A state-owned printing company also was attacked.

Several local and international journalists said they had been threatened or beaten by gangs. Some militiamen invaded a hotel where some news crews were staying.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.