| Country: | East Timor |
| Details of Formation: | Prime Minister Alkatiri fired half of the army, who responded by rioting. The soldiers came mainly from the west (Lorosae), while the soldiers from the east were supposed to receive better payment (Loromonu). Alkatiri and his interior minister Rogerio Lobato distributed weapons to civilian militias to fight the rioters, who included regular people as well as sacked soldiers and the police force. t is unclear if some of the militias have been armed before and just received additionally weapons. |
| Details of Termination: | In the beginning of June, prime minister Alkatiri sacked his interior minister. Alkatiri himself resigned on June 26, 2006. While an agreement on disarmament was reached, its success appears to be unclear based on the information that is available, with some death squad members still being in possession of their weapons after the process was started. The PGM is coded as terminated with the change in government. |
| Purpose: | The government death squad was formed in order to fight political opponents of the government, especially soldiers that turned against the government after they had been sacked. |
| Organisation: | While there is no information on the death squad's leadership, the former prime minister, former interior minister, and other government officials at the time (such as the armed forces deputy commander) appear to have exercised control over the government death squad, at the very least by providing weapons. The extent to which the government was in control of the death squad’s actions is not clear based on the available information. |
| Weapons and Training: | According to news reports, the government armed its hit squad with machetes, knives and pistols, and automatic weapons. |
| Size: | -- |
| Reason for Membership: | The main reason for joining the PGM seems to be antagonism between former soldiers who were dismissed from the army and those that remained loyal to the government. Regional divisions between east and west, which are related to the dissatisfaction of dismissed soldiers, may have provided further motivation to join the death squad, as well as ideological convictions. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | -- |
| Other Information: | Inferring from evidence (June 2, 2006 - The Independent), most soldiers that were sacked are from the west. As the armed militias fought (among others) against rebelling sacked soldiers, the armed militias were probably fighting on the side of the easterners (Loromonu). |
| References: | Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD |