(20 Sep 1999) English/Nat
Heavily-armed peacekeeping troops from Australia, New Zealand and Britain landed in East Timor at dawn on Monday, clearing the way for a U-N-approved force charged with restoring order there.
Supplies and personnel started streaming in at breakneck speed, to bring peace to a territory devastated by pro-Jakarta militias and their allies in the Indonesian army.
The unrest follows a referendum last month on the territory's future in which an overwhelming majority voted to break free from Jakarta's rule.
Peacekeeping troops from Australia, New Zealand and Britain started pouring into East Timor in the early hours of Monday.
About two-dozen Indonesian troops greeted the Australians, and the first minutes of the arrival appeared cordial.
Soon afterwards, 30 elite British Special Forces soldiers flew in on two Hercules military planes.
Pallet after pallet was pulled out onto the runway, as camouflaged vehicles were driven down ramps from the backs of the Hercules cargo planes and soldiers quickly secured the perimeter of the small airfield.
A few hours after the first U-N troops arrived, Australian Major-General Peter Cosgrove, the head of the peacekeeping force in East Timor, arrived at the airport and was met by Indonesian military officers.
He described the reception of the peacekeeping force in Dili as cordial, saying it had not encountered any resistance since it began its operation on Monday morning.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The force has deployed into Dili very rapidly and I particularly note the cooperation and understanding of the T-N-I (Indonesian military). This bodes well for the continued peaceful arrival of the force and with this sort of cooperation we'll be able to get out and about and start expanding our area of operations in the near future."
SUPER CAPTION: Major General Peter Cosgrove, Head of U.N. Force in East Timor
As the U-N force was arriving, Indonesian army units were leaving Dili harbour.
Within hours of their arrival - and in the first incident of its kind - peacekeepers disarmed two militiamen who rode into the harbour area on a motorbike.
The two offered no resistance and sped away after troops ordered them to leave.
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