Anti-war protesters clashed with police in Sydney Feb. 22 before the arrival of US Vice President Dick Cheney. Seven people were arrested as mounted police attempted to bar hundreds from marching through Australia's largest city, demanding Prime Minister John Howard pull troops out of Iraq. (Reuters [2], Feb. 23) Meanwhile, Australian troops in East Timor shot and killed a youth who was firing steel arrows at the soldiers as they responded to a disturbance at a refugee camp near Dili airport. Two Timorese civilians were also injured in the incident. Some 800 Australian troops are in East Timor following a request from the small nation's government last year after weeks of deadly violence. About 1,000 international police are also in East Timor as part of a UN mission. (The West [3], Australia, Feb. 23)
See our last posts on Australia [4], Iraq [5], the anti-war effort [6] and East Timor [7].
