East Timor sends more forces to hunt rebels
DILI (Reuters) - East Timor sent more than 1,000 police andsoldiers to search the hills and raid homes on Friday inpursuit of rebels involved in this month's assassinationattempts on the country's president and prime minister.
Rebel soldiers attacked Jose Ramos-Horta's home on February11, seriously wounding the president during a gunfight.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped unhurt in aseparate attack the same morning, ordered the country'smilitary and police forces to form a joint command to arrestfollowers of rebel leader Alfredo Reinado.
More than 1,000 police officers and soldiers paraded thestreets of the capital, Dili, on Friday before embarking on thehunt for rebel soldiers in nearby hills.
"We promise we won't betray the confidence given to us. Wepromise we will restore peace and stability," military chiefTaur Matan Ruak told a news conference.
Arrest warrants have been issued against 17 peoplesuspected of involvement in the attack, including GastaoSalsinha who took command of rebel soldiers after Reinado waskilled during the attack on Ramos-Horta.
Later on Friday, parliament approved a proposal by Gusmaoto extend a state of emergency -- which was declared soon afterthe attacks and was due to expire on Saturday -- for a furthermonth.
But some residents in Dili said the state of emergency wasmaking it harder for people to earn a living.
"There's no need to extend it, we are suffering," said onefisherman on the beach.
Asia's youngest nation has been unable to achieve stabilitysince hard-won independence in 2002.
The army tore apart along regional lines in 2006, whenabout 600 soldiers were sacked, triggering factional violencethat killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes.
Foreign troops were sent to restore order in the formerPortuguese colony of about one million people, which gainedfull independence from Indonesia after a U.N.-sponsored vote in1999 that was marred by violence.
(Writing by Adhityani Arga; Editing by Sara Webb and AlexRichardson)