United Nations staff, refugees and journalists were trapped for several hours inside the UN compound in the East Timor capital, Dili, yesterday, as gunfire raked the streets outside in a prolonged battle between armed pro-Indonesian militias and local youths.
At least two people were killed in the confrontation. One was shot dead and one literally hacked to pieces with machetes.
Elsewhere in East Timor, at least four people were reported killed as militias put up road blocks in a widening campaign of terror.
Local people carrying terrified children fled into the compound housing the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) when the shoo ting broke out late yesterday afternoon. At the height of the panic they sang hymns and recited the Ave Maria as bursts of M16 automatic fire came from less than 100 yards away.
Trouble had been simmering all day and just before the gunfire erupted, I saw dozens of youths taunting armed militia members about 300 yards from the main gate of the UN headquarters. The first shot from a home-made pistol rang out at about 4.40 p.m., and people ran in panic towards the UNAMET compound.
More gunfire suddenly came from nearby and UN officials and journalists who had been milling around in the roadway joined in a mad scramble through the blue metal gates of the compound which UN officials raced to shut.
Some journalists who remained outside were beaten. A BBC cameraman was lucky to escape with his life when cornered by men with knives and guns, and a Washington Post correspondent was struck on the back with the blunt edge of a machete before escaping into the compound.
Everyone took cover behind parked UN vehicles but when the militias appeared outside the gates, we were moved to the back of the group of buildings which once housed a teacher training college. No shots were fired into the compound, but with the gunfire intensifying, an English voice announced through a loudspeaker: "We have automatic gunfire, ladies and gentlemen. Please move inside the main building."
Inside the building, about 300 local people, the children silent and round-eyed with terror, sat on the tiled floor as a woman led them in hymns and prayers and UN officials distributed boxes of water bottles. The people included families who had fled from the homes in the nearby outskirts of Dili as militias resumed their campaign of harassment of the pro-independence population after a largely peaceful polling day.
Among those distributing water to children was Mr Pat Bradley from Derry, one of three poll commissioners who will determine if the result was fairly achieved.
Two houses were set on fire outside UNAMET headquarters, sen ding huge black plumes of smoke into the sky. Refugees seen fleeing in the steep scrub-covered hills above the compound were waved down to safety by UN workers. Seeing this, some militia supporters threw a shower of stones over the compound wall. Despite urgent calls from UNAMET officials, it took an hour for two truckloads of police to appear, though the main Dili barracks is nearby and hundreds of extra police brought from Indonesia have been stationed there to provide extra security for the period of the referendum.
They made no attempt to arrest any of the militiamen but fired in the air to bring the situation under control. Later police secured the area with roadblocks and trucked journalists to their hotels through dark and deserted streets.
Meanwhile counting of votes began yesterday in a museum building near Dili airport, with officials emptying 850 ballot boxes to tally the votes with ballot papers issued. When this is completed today, they will then mix all the papers together and start the count proper. The result will be announced simultaneously by the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, and UNAMET, probably on Sunday.