An NZ soldier stands guard as youths walk away after a clash in Dili. Photo / Reuters
DILI - A man was shot dead during a gang fight involving more than 100 people near the Australian embassy in East Timor's capital yesterday, a family member said.
Joaquim, the brother of the dead man, said his brother was killed when international security forces fired into a
crowd after the violence erupted in the Kampung Alor area.
Neither UN nor government officials could be immediately contacted for comment.
Australia led a force of 3,200 foreign peacekeepers, including New Zealanders, to East Timor in late May after the tiny country descended into chaos following the sacking of 600 mutinous soldiers.
The territory of around a million people voted in a 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia, which annexed it after Portugal ended its colonial rule in 1975.
East Timor became fully independent in 2002 after a period of UN administration.
- REUTERS
