NZ soldier killed in Timor gunfight

By PATRICK GOWER

A New Zealand peacekeeper was killed yesterday in a gunfight with an unidentified group in East Timor.

Leonard William Manning died of a gunshot wound after an incident with an armed group at 3 pm (New Zealand time).

Private Manning, of Bravo Company, 2/1 Battalion, was part of a tracking team looking for the armed group in rugged hill country northwest of Suai near the border with Indonesian West Timor.

The New Zealand battalion had launched an operation to locate the armed men earlier in the day after being told of their presence by local Timorese.

New Zealand troops have frequently come under fire from militia groups armed with semi-automatic weapons, grenades and spears near the West Timor border.

Brigadier Jerry Mateparae, the New Zealand-based Joint Force Commander, said the Army would provide more information about the circumstances of Private Manning's death today.

"This is a tragic loss, and my condolences and thoughts go out to the family of Private Manning," he said early today. "We have advised Private Manning's next of kin and currently have an Army liaison officer with his family to facilitate any support that they may require from us.

"Our priority now is bringing Private Manning home and ensuring the needs of his family and friends are met."

Private Manning is the third New Zealand soldier to die since United Nations peacekeepers went into East Timor last September after Indonesia's withdrawal from the territory.

Warrant Officer Tony Michael Walser was killed in November after the road collapsed beneath the truck he was driving and Staff Sergeant William White died in April after his vehicle crashed.

The three casualties are the first deaths among New Zealand soldiers on operational duties in almost 30 years.

New Zealand has some 660 troops in East Timor, based in the southwest on the border with West Timor.