EAST TIMOR: UNHCR IN EAST TIMOR SAYS UP TO TWENTY PEOPLE MAY HAVE BEEN KILLED IN ATTACK THAT LEFT THREE U.N. WORKERS DEAD.

Record ID: 646626

  • Title: EAST TIMOR: UNHCR IN EAST TIMOR SAYS UP TO TWENTY PEOPLE MAY HAVE BEEN KILLED IN ATTACK THAT LEFT THREE U.N. WORKERS DEAD.
  • Date: 8th September 2000
  • Summary: DILI, EAST TIMOR (SEPTEMBER 8, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. CU: SOUNDBITE (English) BERNARD KERBLAT, UNHCR SPOKESMAN SAYING: "The twenty casualties reported in Betun are killed from what we have received. We have no information on the wounded, the number wounded. We do not know whether they are Indonesian citizens or (East Timorese) refugees, but we know that there are no NGO personnel among these twenty. Atambua together with, please allow me.... and understand that I don't want to go into the specifics for security reasons, as there are still the lives of some people at stake. We have a certain number of people we know they were about and they are still in West Timor right now. But please allow me not to disclose the exact number as we are working on that right now."/ MEDIA/ "We also heard through local military sources in (unidentifiable location) the same information, the imminent arrival of these troops... Our assumption is that if it has filtered down to Betun there must be some truth in that, we cannot confirm it, we don't have any firm information on that. (Question from a journalist) Let's put it this way, from the information in our possession we believe that there is more militia control in the area as from 2300 last night." (3 SHOTS) 1.39 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: DILI, EAST TIMOR
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Reuters ID: LVA8EYABLGGWBZIDW138H9WPOCGC
  • Story Text: The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in East
    Timor says 20 people may have been killed in Atambua in West
    Timor, where three of its staff were slain on Wednesday
    (September 8) by a militia-led mob.



    The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human
    Rights (UNHCR) has received information from Atambua town in
    West Timor, where three of its staff were killed on Wednesday
    by a militia-led mob, that around 20 others may have been
    killed there, said Bernard Kerblat, chief of operations at the
    UNHCR's office in East Timor.

    On Wednesday, a mob attacked the UNHCR office in
    Atambua,
    killing three staff from Croatia, Ethiopia and Puerto Rico.

    Their bodies were transported to Dili on Thursday evening to
    undergo autopsies before being repatriated.

    Also on Thursday afternoon, helicopters carrying 69
    evacuees
    from Atambua, comprising two international humanitarian aid
    workers and 67 Indonesians, including staff of various NGOs
    and U.N. agencies, arrived in Dili.

    The evacuees, who were brought from Atambua to the
    border in
    a convoy escorted by soldiers of the TNI, Indonesia's
    military, were in addition to 42 people who were extracted
    from Atambua by U.N. peacekeeping force helicopters the
    previous day.

    Wednesday's incident was the worst ever single attack on
    UNHCR staff.

    (kt/mvb

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