UN officer shot in East Timor blames Indonesian soldier

DARWIN, Australia, Sept 8 (AFP) - An American United Nations police officer
wounded in East Timor said Wednesday he was shot by an Indonesian soldier.

Earl Candler, who is recovering in a Darwin hospital after being airlifted
earlier this week, said he was shot in the abdomen while driving through the
town of Liquisa four days ago.

The Illinois state trooper said his attacker was a member of the TNI, the
Indonesian military sent to East Timor to maintain law and order in the
aftermath of last week's independence ballot.

"I see him roll up his weapon, I see him point his weapon and me and my
driver got down as low as we could go," Candler told ABC television.

"The impression I got was that there was an Australian subject who looked a
lot like me and he was their target and they got me by mistake."

Candler said his life had been saved by the protective body armour he had,
even though two bullets worked their way through it.

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