Associated Press November 10, 2000

Mob Throws Stones At UN Police In E Timor Before UN Visit

DILI, East Timor (AP)--Angry youths pelted U.N. riot police with stones Friday after a mob of 3,000 people chased four alleged prostitutes through the the capital's market and streets.

The skirmish came a day before a U.N. delegation from New York was scheduled to arrive to assess the security situation in both East Timor and Indonesian West Timor.

One police officer and a civilian were injured during the clash.

The incident started after a group of residents caught four women they accused of being prostitutes. They women escaped the mob by sheltering in a nearby medical clinic.

There are fears that prostitution is on the rise in the predominantly Roman Catholic East Timor, which broke away from Indonesian rule last year.

More than 10,000 foreigners are now based in the territory to prepare it for self-rule.

The U.N. is responsible for security in the half-island state in the lead-up to local elections next year.

On Saturday, a seven-member team from the U.N. Security Council is due to arrive in East Timor for a three-day visit.

The group will then travel to Indonesian West Timor where three U.N. foreign aid workers were killed in September by an anti-independence militia mob.

All foreign relief workers were evacuated from the territory after the killings and the Security Council called on Indonesia to disarm the militia gangs.

The delegation is expected to check on the Indonesian government's progress in disarming the paramilitaries and inspect the conditions of several refugee camps in the territory.

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