Within a week of the vote for independence on August 30th, this had been reduced to a symbolic presence in a besieged compound in East Timor's capital, Dili.

ECONOMIST: The terror in a ruined capital | The

DILI, East Timor (CNN) -- As the presence of an international peacekeeping force in East Timor grows, so do the hopes of pro-independence East Timorese after weeks of terror and violence.

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Five people were reported dead in Dili, the capital of East Timor , when police fired on a crowd protesting against the arrest of a student.

ECONOMIST: Inspections continue

Significantly, elite troops of Australia's Special Air Service Regiment, understood to have infiltrated into East Timor in advance of Interfet's arrival in Dili Sept. 20, have already linked up with Falintil's Ruak in his mountain base.

CNN: Back in the Thick of It