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Rebel Soldier Shoots East Timor Prez

Posted Feb 10, 08 7:54 PM CST in Crime & Courts,  World 

(Newser) – A rebel soldier shot East Timor's president today in an attack on his home, the BBC reports. President Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, underwent surgery at an Australian army hospital and is expected to live. The president’s guards shot and killed the assailant, Alfredo Reinado, who had vowed to use force against the government.

The fighting began before dawn today when two cars passed the president’s house in the capital city of Dili. Local media also reported an attack on East Timor's prime minister, but said no one was injured. East Timor has been plagued by fierce battles between police and military forces since 2006, when former PM Mari Alkatiri dismissed a third of the armed forces.

Source BBC

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Jose Ramos-Horta is carried to the stage on the shoulders of his supporters during a campaign appearance in this April 3, 2007 file photo in Baucau, about 140 kilometers (84 miles) east of Dili, East...   (Associated Press)
Rebel leader Maj. Alfedo Reinado speaks to media in Dili, the capital of East Timor, in this May 23, 2006 file photo. Reinado was killed by return fire from soldiers guarding the home of East Timor President...   (Associated Press)
Jose Ramos-Horta speaks at a campaign rally in Dili, the capital of East Timor in this April 4, 2007 file photo. East Timor President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was wounded in a pre-dawn...   (Associated Press)
East Timorese army renegade Alfredo Reinado, second left, walks with his followers in Same district of East Timor, in this Feb. 27, 2007 file photo. Reinado was killed by return fire from soldiers guarding...   (Associated Press)
President of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta listens during a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in this Sept. 28, 2007 file photo, in New York. Jose Ramos-Horta was wounded...   (Associated Press)
Fugitive East Timorese soldier Alfredo Reinado, center, walks with his body guards during a parade in Gleno, East Timor, in this Nov. 22. 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/ Binsar Bakkara, file)   (Associated Press)
East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta speaks with media in Dili, East Timor's capital, in this April 5, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Ed Wray, File)   (Associated Press)
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United Nations • Australia • Nobel Peace Prize • East Timor • Jose Ramos-Horta • Alfredo Reinado • Dili


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