Ambush at the source of Ossohira
When ambush at the source of Ossohira on 21st November 1986 34 were Indonesian soldiers killed. It was one of the most dramatic incidents of that period for the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) in the war against the East Timorese Liberation Army FALINTIL . A total of 169 Indonesian soldiers were killed in East Timor (138 killed in action).
course
In 1986 the 3rd and 9th Indonesian Zipur Battalions ( Zipur from Indonesian "zeni tempur" , literally "combat engineer", ie pioneer ) carried out road construction work in southeast Timor on the road from Lospalos to Iliomar and on to Viqueque .
On the morning of November 21, a group of left ABRI pioneers of the 9th Battalion Zipur their camp on the river Paifakaver in place Tirilolo in a Unimog and drove on the main road to the northeast toward Lospalos. The 34 Zipur soldiers were accompanied by an unarmed Timorese who belonged to the Tenaga Bantuan Operasi (TBO, German "Operative Support Forces " ). At 9 a.m. they reached the source of Ossohira, where the road climbs up the southeast slope of Mount Acadiroloho, about 200 meters after the junction to Bubutau. Here, two kilometers north of the village of Maluhira ( Suco Caenlio ), about 30 FALINTIL fighters under the command of Koro Asu had positioned themselves on both sides of the road. Part of the group were also men who belonged to the unit of Faustino dos Santos and about eight boys aged 12 to 13 who served as porters. They had their camp further east in Hedan near Buidala in the area of the Namaluto River .
Most of the FALINTIL fighters sat on the steep, wooded slope on the east side of the road, but a few men stood ready on the west side to cut off the path of escaping Indonesians in the gorge. Vicente Lourdes from Bubutau fired the group's only machine gun for twelve minutes while other FALINTIL fighters threw three grenades. Then they pushed forward and killed those Indonesians who were just wounded. Only one soldier whom the FALINTIL fighters believed dead survived the attack, injured.
consequences
The East Timorese captured 34 M15 and M16 rifles , as well as ammunition, rucksacks, uniforms and boots. On the way back to her base, the FALINTIL took another ABRI base under fire. Back in Hedan, the booty and troops were divided, as retaliatory actions by the Indonesians were expected. The base was renamed Tolunulu-resin-ida ( tetum "34" ) as a reminder of the successful campaign.
The victims of the ambush were first brought by ABRI to Iliomar and then by helicopter to Dili . They were buried in the military cemetery in Dili (Taman Makam Pahlawan Seroja) . In response to the attack, the Indonesian military launched an operation in the jungle areas and also stepped up against the resistance in the Iliomar sub- district . According to a FRETILIN report, 17 male residents of the region were executed with bayonets by Indonesian soldiers . In Tirilolo, Pedro Coreia (sic) was suspected of being a spy. The Indonesian soldiers castrated and tortured him and finally had his throat cut. Locals found his body at Utaira four days later . On Mount Naunili , 30-year-old Júlio Madeira from Ceaenlio was shot in the eye. The 20-year-old Tiborsio was seriously injured in the chest by soldiers of the 745 Infantry Battalion from Lospalos. Both East Timorese survived. Twelve men from Caenlio, three men from Fuat and one man from Tirilolo were arrested by ABRI. All were interrogated and tortured by the Kopassus in Lospalos, and six of them were subsequently imprisoned in Comarca prison in Dili. Among those arrested were several members of the East Timorese auxiliary troops of the Indonesians ( Hansip ). Except for one who had been tortured at a meeting with FALINTIL, all of them returned to their service.
Until 1989 there was no organized resistance against the occupiers in Iliomar, so that the Indonesian administration was able to establish itself here. Nevertheless, there were always minor skirmishes between guerrillas and Indonesian security forces.
Vicente Lourdes, the machine gunner from the ambush, surrendered to the Indonesian Infantry Battalion 612 / MD on January 18, 1996 in Bubutau at the age of 40. The ambush was also part of the indictment against FALINTIL Commander in Chief Xanana Gusmão , who was captured by the Indonesians in 1992 and eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Ernest Chamberlain: The Struggle in Iliomar: Resistance in rural East Timor Iliomar Sub-District , pp. 119 ff., 2017 , accessed on November 6, 2018.
- ↑ “Chapter 7.2 Unlawful Killings and Enforced Disappearances” , p. 239 (PDF; 2.5 MB) from the “Chega!” Report of the CAVR (English). Note: The report gives an incorrect date.
- ↑ Note: The place and Aldeia of Ossohira are south of the place Iliomar.
- ↑ Juliette Huber: A grammar of Makalero - A Papuan language of East Timor , LOT Utrecht 2011