General News - 2nd prize
Ilkka Uimonen
Corbis Sygma for Newsweek
Corbis Sygma for Newsweek
01 January, 1999
A Timorese woman runs past a burning government building. At the end of August a referendum was held which resulted in an 80 per cent vote for independence from Indonesia. Tension escalated and violence intensified after results were announced, as pro-Indonesian militia went on a rampage, killing independence supporters and setting fire to buildings. Eventually the UN intervened, sending in an Australian peace-keeping force on September 20.