FOCUS: CRISIS IN EAST TIMOR: SEVEN DAYS TO GENOCIDE

Saturday 11 September 1999 19:02 EDT
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SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER

East Timor votes to end 24 years of Indonesian rule.

SUNDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

Within hours of the result, armed men surround the capital, Dili. Plans for a transitional United Nations administration are drafted.

MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

Militiamen go on the rampage; 100 dead and thousands forced to leave their homes.

TUESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER

Martial law imposed, but pro- Jakarta mobs run through Dili unchecked. Details emerge of 40 East Timorese murdered in a church. UN chief Kofi Annan gives Indonesian President BJ Habibie 48 hours to control militia, or let a UN peacekeeping force in.

WEDNESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER

UN mission flies to Indonesia. Looters ransack homes and shops. Indonesia refuses to sanction peacekeeping force.

THURSDAY 9 SEPTEMBER

UN reverses decision to pull out of Dili. Nuns and priests among hundreds slaughtered by militias. USA suspends military relations with Indonesia.

FRIDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

UN staff evacuate compound after coming under military fire. In five days 70,000 people have left the capital. Militia in control of Dili; nearly all buildings razed to the ground.

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