DILI, East Timor: Portugal withdrew the bulk of its police officers from East Timor yesterday as international forces wind up a 13-year mission in Asia’s youngest nation, where thousands have died in political bloodshed.
Seventy-five of the officers boarded a Lisbon-bound plane in the former Portuguese colony, among the last of 1,200 UN peacekeepers to return home before the official end of their mission on Dec. 31.
Only around three dozen UN Police remain in the country, including several from Portugal, Australia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Most of them will leave next week and all will have to withdraw by Dec. 31.
Portugal pulls bulk of police from E. Timor
