Australian Troops in East Timor Are on Alert: CommanderAustralian commander Colonel Greg Baker said Tuesday that his soldiers in the East Timor were on a high level of alert, the Australian Associated Press reported.A New Zealand peacekeeper was killed Monday on the East Timor- West Timor border by militiamen. There are 1,600 Australian defense-force personnel in the East Timor as a part of the United Nations Transitional Authority. "The Australian troops across here are always on a high level of alert and certainly for the last few months as a result of the incidents that have been occurring over here," Baker said. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer Tuesday called on Indonesia to stiffen their resolve to end militia activity. "While I am conscious of the efforts already made at the most senior levels of the Indonesian government to deal with this problem, ultimately only they can take the steps which are needed to prevent incidents like this," he was quoted as saying. |
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