By DPA
Sydney : East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was wounded Monday in a pre-dawn rebel attack on his home in the capital Dili, media reports reaching here said.
The Nobel peace laureate and former prime minister was shot in the stomach and taken to an Australian military hospital. Australia’s ABC Radio reported that he would be flown 300 km to Darwin, Australia for further treatment.
A guard was killed in Monday’s attack on the presidential compound. Also reportedly slain by return fire was rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado, who has been on the run since escaping from jail in 2006.
Reinado had been arrested on allegations of murder, desertion and carrying weapons illegally.
Ramos-Horta shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with countryman Bishop Carlos Belo for leading a non-violent struggle against Indonesian occupation.
Jakarta’s troops invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975, starting an occupation that continued until 1999, when Australia led an international force that helped guide East Timor to full independence in 2002.
Ramos-Horta switched jobs with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao after elections last year.
Damian Kingsbury, an Australian academic who has just returned from Dili, predicted that the death of Reinado – if confirmed – would spark unrest in the east of the country, the base of support for his insurgency.
“If in fact Renaido has been killed, that’s a very significant move in East Timorese politics,” the Deakin University professor said.
Last week, troops loyal to Reinado fired on Australian troops on a routine patrol.
A contingent of 800 Australian soldiers was sent to East Timor to restore order when the world’s newest nation fell into chaos in 2006.