SYDNEY, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- The escape of 57 prisoners from a jail in Dili has created a new crisis for Australian-led security forces in troubled Timor-Leste.
Among the escapees in the breakout late Wednesday was Alfredo Reinado, the swaggering rebel military policeman blamed for plunging Timor-Leste into violent chaos in May. Nearly 2,000 Australian troops and others from Malaysia and Portugal have struggled to curb gang violence since then.
Australian Justice Minister Christopher Ellison told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the jail incident could further destabilize Timor-Leste.
"Our main priority, of course, is to recapture the prisoners that have escaped and put them back into custody," he said. "Certainly, there will be enquiries into how they escaped."
The spokesman on foreign affairs for the Labor opposition party, Kevin Rudd, said the jailbreak highlights the need for Australian troops in Dili.
