NEWSAustralian troops take control of town in Timor Leste
CANBERRA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Australian troops have taken control of the Timor Leste's town of Same in search for a rebel leader, with reports of deaths.
The operation, believed to have started earlier on Sunday, is against former army major Alfredo Reinado, who has been on the runsince he escaped from jail in Timor Leste's capital of Dili last August.
Radio Australia quoted Juliu Guterres, a Radio Timor Leste reporter, as saying that "when the tanks and the international troops entered Same, those troops threw tear gas canisters then the youths (Reinado's supporters) dispersed."
"We don't know what happened to the armed supporters, we don't know their whereabouts, or what happened to them, if escaped, or are still in town, or have been arrested. We don't know," he said
A report on the Timor Online website quoted a police source in Dili as confirming the on-going operation by the Australian troops has caused an unknown number of deaths.