East Timor: UN police, peacekeepers team up to investigate killing of alleged thieves

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in East Timor today said it was assisting a UN police investigation into the killing of two alleged cattle thieves by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) in the border region.

A group of alleged cattle thieves were confronted Friday by TNI troops on the Indonesian side of the tactical coordination line that separates East Timor and West Timor. TNI reported it had shot three of the suspects, killing two. The wounded man and another suspect reportedly escaped and fled into East Timor.

UN police, assisted by peacekeepers from New Zealand, launched an investigation into the incident. They were conducting a search operation in the area surrounding Nanu village, where the two surviving suspects were last seen.

UN investigators have not confirmed the nationality of the two killed.