Word: militiaization
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Cohen insisted that disarming the anti-independence militia in East Timor was the price for restoring military ties between the U.S. and Indonesia. Earlier, he had announced that U.S. helicopters and a further 130 communications experts would join the 260 non-combatant U.S. personnel in the Australian-led East Timor peacekeeping force. But pro-Indonesia militiamen are continuing to threaten the peacekeepers, and Australian troops on Tuesday arrested 15 "militiamen" who turned out to be members of the Indonesian military?s Kopassus special forces. "Everybody thought all along that the militia were being run by Kopassus units loyal...
...problem with proxy armies is that they don't always pack up and go home when their sponsors do. The Indonesian military may have officially given up the ghost in East Timor, but their local militia allies on Thursday began menacing international peacekeepers, firing weapons into the air and massing for an attack in the capital, Dili. Australian troops, who make up the bulk of the United Nations force, came under sniper fire at a house where they were quartered, and even more worrying for the international soldiers were reports that Indonesian troops had fired their weapons near a peacekeeping...
...While international pressure may have given Indonesia more to lose than to gain by holding on to East Timor, the same isn't true for the militiamen. The unearthing Wednesday of a grisly massacre site where up to 30 victims had been beheaded underscores the fact that some militia leaders may face trial for human rights abuses. There are a lot of hardened men with guns ? and nothing to lose...
...announcement that nearly 80% of the electorate had voted for independence, Dili and other towns echoed with gunfire as militiamen took over the streets, unchecked by the military. Civilians began pouring into churches, convents and U.N. compounds seeking safety (see accompanying story). "If there is a devil, these militia guys work for him," said a photographer evacuated from Dili after the referendum...
...there was any light to be found in East Timor last week, it was in the U.N. compound in Dili, where a small group of aid workers, journalists and refugees kept up a heroic mission. Though Annan had ordered the compound shut on Wednesday, after militia groups attacked a U.N. food convoy, his local representatives revolted: fearing the 1,500 refugees in the compound would be massacred once the foreigners left, the staff members circulated petitions and announced they would stay. After a few hours of frantic negotiating, the U.N. left behind a skeleton staff of 84 people, who endured...