By Tito Belo
DILI (Reuters) - East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta wasshot and critically wounded at his home in Dili on Monday in anassassination attempt by rebel soldiers that analysts saidcould spark renewed violence and political chaos in the tinynation.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped injury in anotherattack also on Monday morning, officials said.
Australia pledged to send more troops to Asia's youngestnation after the apparently coordinated attack on East Timor'stwo most famous independence figures.
Residents in Dili reported the capital appeared calm andGusmao said Ramos-Horta was in stable condition after theattack in which a key rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado, waskilled.
The president, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize withcompatriot Bishop Carlos Belo for their nonviolent struggle forEast Timor's independence from Indonesian occupation, wasoperated on by an Australian military medical team in Dilibefore being flow to Darwin in northern Australia fortreatment.
"This is a serious attempt on a democratic state," Gusmaotold a news conference. He later said at government palace thathe had asked the acting president, deputy speaker of parliamentVicente Guterres, to impose night curfew in the capital.
An Australian medical official said Ramos-Horta, who wasflown to Darwin on life support and in an induced coma, wasstable but would undergo further surgery for two bullet wounds.
"He has wounds to the abdomen and lower chest. They arevery serious wounds, particularly the chest injury is extremelyserious," Dr Len Notaras, general manager of Royal DarwinHospital, told Reuters.
"He has damaged blood vessels in the chest, they wererepaired in Timor, and will be further repaired and cleanedup," he said adding that right lung also required extensivesurgery.
"The next 24 to 48 hours will tell us about his progress.We are optimistic that the good surgical skills here...willmean he will have a good chance of recovery," Notaras said.
The former Portuguese colony of almost 1 million peoplegained independence in 2002 in a U.N. sponsored referendumafter more than two decades of brutal Indonesian occupation.
But it has been unable to achieve stability.
Tensions rose this month after rebels loyal to rebel leaderReinado, who was blamed for Monday's attacks, fired onAustralian troops patrolling near Dili.
"Prime Minister Xanana is going to have to work very hardto ensure the government retains its cohesion. It's a crisisnow," said Damien Kingsbury, associate professor at Australia'sDeakin University.
COORDINATED ATTACKS
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was "deeplyshocked" by what appeared to be "coordinated attacks aimed atassassinating the democratically-elected leadership".
Rudd said he would visit East Timor later in the week toinspect security after a request from Gusmao.
Australia would send around 200 quick reaction troopsimmediately to the fledgling nation, along with 50 to 70police.
New Zealand, which has more than 200 soldiers and police inEast Timor, was putting additional troops on standby, NewZealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff said.
International security forces in East Timor, led by around800 Australian soldiers, had secured key buildings in Dili andincreased patrols in the capital and across the country.
East Timor has been struggling to get back on its feetafter the army tore apart along regional lines in 2006.
The factional bloodshed two years ago killed 37 people anddrove 150,000 from their homes, with foreign troops needed torestore order between warring neighbourhoods.
Reinado had led a revolt against the government and wascharged with murder during the 2006 factional violence.
A Reuters reporter saw the bodies of the two dead attackersand identified one of them as Reinado.
An East Timor soldier was also seriously wounded, amilitary spokesman said.
The military said attackers in two cars were involved inthe early morning raid on the president's isolated home, whilea motorcade with Gusmao's car was targetted, officials said.
"No one was wounded but Gusmao's car was damaged bybullets," said the official, adding that Gusmao's family hadbeen taken to a military compound for protection.
Security analyst Alan Dupont, from Sydney think-tank theLowy Institute, said the shooting would "destabilise East Timorfurther at a time when they looked to be recovering from theproblems of the last 12-18 months."
The predominantly Roman Catholic country, slightly smallerthan Hawaii, is one of Asia's poorest nations, although haspotentially lucrative oil and gas reserves.
(Additional reporting by Adhityani Arga and Muklis Ali inJakarta, Rob Taylor in Canberra and Michael Perry in Sydney;Writing by Ed Davies and Sara Webb;Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
