DILI, East Timor — Rebel soldiers attacked the home of President Jose Ramos-Horta early today and wounded him in the stomach. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader was in stable condition after the shooting, the prime minister said.
East Timor TV reported that Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao’s car also came under fire but no one was hurt, raising the possibility that the rebels might have been staging a coup attempt.
The events plunged the recently independent nation into fresh uncertainty after violence in 2006 led to the collapse of the government.
Two cars carrying rebel soldiers passed Ramos-Horta’s house on the outskirts of Dili about 7 a.m. local time and began shooting, said an army spokesman, Maj. Domingos da Camara. The guards returned fire, he said.
A notorious rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado, was killed in the attack, as was one of Ramos-Horta’s guards, da Camara said. Reinado was due to go on trial in absentia for his alleged role in several deadly shootings between police and military units during the violence in 2006. He had evaded capture since then and refused repeated pleas by the government to surrender.
