IOM Timor Leste, working with the Timorese
Ministry of Labour, this week deployed trucks and staff to deliver
rice and water to thousands of displaced people in the capital
Dili.

The UN estimates that between 100,000 and
110,000 people may have been displaced by the violence that erupted
in Timor Leste in mid-May, triggering the intervention of an
international peace keeping force (IKPF) led by Australia.

Some 65,000 IDPs are believed to be sheltering
in 30 locations around Dili, while the remainder are thought to be
located in 60 to 70 other camps in districts including Liquica,
Ermera, Aileu, Oecussi, Baucau and Atauro island.

In addition to helping to deliver over 60,000
kgs of rice and 60,000 litres of drinking water to some 15 IDP
sites, IOM staff this week worked with the Ministry of Labour and
partner agencies to prioritize delivery sites and map available
emergency response resources such as warehouses and water
points.

“The security situation remains very
fluid with sporadic disturbances, attacks, arson and looting, but
we are seeing some return to calm. Two IOM trucks were briefly held
up by gangs on Wednesday, but were subsequently released following
IPKF intervention,” says IOM Dili chief of mission, Luiz
Vieira.

The UN has asked IOM to coordinate logistics
and transport during the emergency, including liaison with the
IPKF. IOM this week requested US$ 960,000 from the UN’s
Central Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF) to fund the operation.

IOM has operated in Timor Leste since October
1999, when it established a massive land, sea and air bridge to
help some 190,000 East Timorese to return home, following the
territory’s vote for independence from Indonesia after 25
years of occupation.

Following the vote, Indonesian-backed militias
ran amok, leaving much of the territory in ruins and forcing over
200,000 East Timorese to flee to camps in Indonesian West Timor.
The arrival of an Australian-led IPKF and the withdrawal of the
Indonesian military led to a restoration of normality and the
eventual creation of Timor Leste in May 2002.

IOM subsequently implemented a wide range of
small infrastructure projects throughout the country to stabilize
returnee populations. It also worked to build government capacity
and organized the demobilization and reintegration of nearly 2,000
members of the country’s Falintil guerrilla army, with
support from the World Bank and USAID.

For more information please contact:

Luiz Vieira, IOM Dili

Tel. +670.3.33113038

Email: "mailto:lvieira@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">lvieira@iom.int