Murder in Timor

A YEAR after the East Timorese thought peace was at last at hand, violence erupted in the western end of Timor island this week. In West Timor, which remains a part of Indonesia, gangs hacked to death at least three foreign workers of the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, in riots in a border town, Atambua. The murderers had singled out UN workers and other foreigners, blaming them for East Timor's independence. Indonesia's police and army were unable, or unwilling, to confront a mob of some 5,000 people carrying machetes. The riot was said to have been sparked by the murder of a militiaman suspected of taking part in killings in East Timor.