Australian soldier kills 1 in East Timor

An Australian soldier opened fire on a group of East Timorese attacking him with steel arrows on Friday, killing one of the youths and critically wounding two, government and hospital officials said.

The soldier shot in self-defense after responding to a disturbance at a camp in the capital, Dili, for people made homeless by ongoing violence in the tiny nation, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

The incident was the first confirmed fatal shooting by foreign peacekeepers since they arrived in the country last June. There has a recent surge in violence in East Timor ahead of April elections.

Australians in East Timor were warned to watch out for reprisal attacks following the killing, which came a day after seven U.N. officers were wounded by stone-throwing gangs.

East Timorese member of parliament Antonio Ximenes, whose brother-in-law was among those wounded by the Australian solider, said he regretted the use of force against civilians and called for an official inquiry.

"The Australian soldiers should face civilians with love, not repression," Ximenes told The Associated Press.

Jacinto Soares, 32, was dead when he arrived at Dili National Hospital with gunshot wounds to the head, Director Antonio Caleres said. Two other people were in critical condition. One had a leg wound and another was in a coma after chest surgery, he said.

"The soldier was attacked by the East Timorese with steel arrows, and the soldier, in self defense in a life-threatening situation, shot the East Timorese youth," Downer told reporters in Adelaide.

Downer said the shooting "doesn't come as a great surprise" given how unstable Dili has become in the past week.

East Timor, a tiny nation which broke from Indonesia in 1999 after 24 years of occupation, was plunged into crisis last April and May when factional fighting broke out between police and army forces. The clashes spilled onto the streets, where looting, arson and gang warfare left at least 37 dead and sent 155,000 people fleeing their homes.

Relative calm was restored with the arrival of more than 2,500 foreign peacekeepers and the installation of a new government led by Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, but dozens of people have been killed in recent months in fighting by rival gangs.

U.N. forces have increased their presence across the country ahead of presidential elections, citing the volatile security and political situation.