Rebel soldiers in East Timor have begun handing over their weapons to Australian peacekeepers sent in to restore order in the troubled ex-Portuguese colony after months of unrest.
In a ceremony in a hillside camp outside the capital, Dili, rebel commander Lieutenant Alfredo Reinado surrendered his M-16 rifle to Australian troops and instructed his followers to follow suit. Around a dozen guns were handed in, which Australian officials say will be registered and sealed in metal containers.
Armed rebels led by hundreds of soldiers who were dismissed in March after a mutiny have dug in at two bases outside Dili. Last month fighting between rebel soldiers and security forces loyal to the government escalated sharply, dragging East Timor to the brink of civil war and prompting the intervention of 2,200 Australia-led peacekeepers to restore order. |