Clash With E. Timor Peacekeepers Kills 3 Militants

Peacekeepers battled with anti-independence assailants in East Timor for more than an hour today, killing three of the militiamen and wounding three others, peacekeeping officials said.

It was the Australian-led force’s bloodiest clash since it was deployed to the territory Sept. 20 to stop a rampage by Indonesian forces and their militant allies after the territory voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia in an Aug. 30 referendum.

No one in the international force was injured in the fighting near Marko, a village about 10 miles from Indonesian-controlled West Timor, said peacekeeping spokesman Col. Mark Kelly.

“The engagement . . . resulted in approximately three militia killed in action and three militia reported as wounded,” Kelly said.

He said a reconnaissance patrol of about half a dozen peacekeepers was attacked at 7 a.m. by a group of about 20 militiamen. The fighting lasted between 60 and 90 minutes, and a rapid-reaction peacekeeping force was dispatched to the area to evacuate the international patrol by helicopter.

Militia members who fled to West Timor when the peacekeepers arrived in East Timor have repeatedly threatened to launch a guerrilla war against the multinational force.

The 8,000-strong peace force, which has taken control of Dili, the capital of East Timor, is now deploying to most other cities in the territory.

The troops also are boosting their presence along the border with West Timor, where they clashed last week with militiamen and Indonesian soldiers and police.