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DILI: United Nations police in East Timor have arrested 34 people
following violence in the eastern part of the country over the past
few days, a spokeswoman said Sunday.
In Baucau, just east of Dili, 21 people have
been arrested and charged with creating a public disturbance
including blocking roads, throwing stones and burning tires, UN
Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) spokeswoman Alison Cooper
said.
Two other people were also arrested in the same
town and were charged with making homemade weapons, Cooper said in a
press statement.
In Quelicai, nine people have been arrested for
carrying illegal weapons in relation to their alleged role in the
attack on a UN convoy on Friday. A further two people have been
arrested for alleged arson in Quelicai for the burning of houses.
All 34 cases are with the Office of the
Prosecutor for Timor-Leste, Cooper said.
The situation in Baucau and Dili has been calm
over the past few days, she said, adding that the UN Police, the
East Timor national police, Australian-led international stabilizing
forces and the East Timorese armed forces, continued to maintain a
strong presence across the country to maintain law and order.
The violence followed the announcement last week
of the appointment of former president and resistance leader Xanana
Gusmao as the country’s new prime minister, irking supporters of
the Fretilin party, which had won the June 30 legislative elections.
Gusmao leads a coalition of parties that holds
the majority votes at the parliament.
The foreign police and troops have been deployed
in East Timor since last year after the government sought
international assistance to deal with the deadly unrest in April and
May last year.
--AFP
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