U.N. dumps militia weapons into sea off East Timor 05/27/2000 Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Dili, East Timor (dpa) - The United Nations Transitionalal Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) on Saturday dumped 17 tons of confiscated militia weapons into the sea off Dili.

Most of the weapons had been confiscated between October andnd December by the Australian-led International Force in East Timor (Interfet) and then handed over to U.N. peacekeepers, said Lieutenant-Colonel Brynjar Nymo, UNTAET military spokesman.

They included knives, spears, bows and arrows, homemade firearms, pistols, rifles and military magazines. Late Saturday morning the MV Malhulina dumped the weapons into 3,000 metres of water in the Wetar Strait, 10 nautical miles northeast of Dili.

The U.N. spokesman in Dili said the weapons were non-toxic andnd contained no chemical or biological material. They were boxed and banded on pallets to ensure rapid sinking.

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