No plan for Australian troops to withdraw from Timor-Leste after shootings: official

There are no plans for Australian troops to withdraw from Timor-Leste, an Australian high defense official has said.

This followed a shooting incident in which two people of Timor- Leste were shot dead by Australian soldiers late last week.

The Australian Defense Force has said the Australian soldiers were attacked with steel arrows on Friday when they attended a disturbance at the airport of Timor-Leste's capital of Dili.

Australia's Defense Secretary Peter Lindsay said the shootings are unfortunate and that he hopes the unrest doesn't continue.

"Frustrations were clearly boiling over at the airport and we've seen this unfortunate two deaths now," he was quoted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio as saying Monday.

"Our troops operate on very strict rules of engagement, they will never fire unless they're operating under those rules and unless they're physically and personally threatened," he said.

Lindsay said the defense force will look into exactly what happened.

"There will be a full investigation, we'll get to the bottom of that with a view to trying to make sure that circumstances are such that we can mitigate that in the future," he said.

Meanwhile, he said there are no plans for withdrawal of troops from Timor-Leste.

"My understanding is we're going to be in Timor for a long time trying to help that very poor country establish itself and be a successful country," he said.

Source: Xinhua