The aim is to get the militia groups to surrender. We are still tracking these groups. Falintil comprises 1200 armed fighters based in a UN-supervised cantonment at Aileu, about 48 kilometres south of Dili. The independence army has been lobbying for a more active role in operations against the militias. The Portuguese command now appears to endorse that role.
Australian commanders are more ambivalent.
Australian policy is that Falintil should be used as liaison officers at headquarters level and kept away from combat patrols. A UN spokeswoman in Dili, Barbara Reis, told The Age that under new guidelines approved by the UN Security Council, Falintil guerrillas are allowed to patrol with UN peacekeepers and use their weapons if threatened. The rules of engagement allow peacekeepers to fire without warning if they feel they are being threatened. New Zealand peacekeepers shot dead a militiaman yesterday before launching a helicopter-backed operation to try to capture at least 14 others near the West Timor border. The Age Company Ltd 2000.