E.Timor rebels fire on Australian troops
By Tito Belo
DILI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - East Timorese rebels loyal to a fugitive army renegade have fired on Australian troops patrolling near the tiny nation's capital, an Australian commander said on Thursday.
No one was injured in an encounter in Ermera district, 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the capital Dili on Wednesday, said Brigadier James Baker, commander of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in East Timor.
Baker said rebels led by Alfredo Reinado, a renegade former military police chief, were responsible for the attack on the Australian troops, who are in East Timor to restore order following a deadly wave of violence in 2006.
"The ISF soldiers did not fire back, the ISF soldiers acted in a very professional and disciplined manner," Baker told reporters after talks with East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta.
Reinado has led a revolt against the government and has been charged with murder during the 2006 factional violence, which left 37 people died and drove more than 100,000 from their homes.
A woman who answered Reinado's mobile phone told Reuters that the rebels fired shots because the Australian troops were targetting them.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao had ordered security forces to stop hunting Reinado and instead proposed dialogue to discuss his grievances and those of 600 soldiers who were sacked by the previous government.
The dismissal of the soldiers triggered a series of protests that degenerated into street fighting and arson attacks.
Reinado has said he was fighting for justice for the sacked soldiers.
Baker said Reinado remained a threat to security but it was up to the government to deal with the rebel leader.
The former Portuguese colony voted to break away from 23 years of Indonesian rule in a violence-marred vote in 1999.
It became independent in 2002 after a period of U.N. administration but remains one of the world's poorest nations. (Writing by Ahmad Pathoni; Editing by Bill Tarrant )
