Jakarta – A soldier told Indonesia's new human rights court Tuesday he was asked by his commanding officer to transport and bury bodies from a church massacre in East Timor, among the worst of atrocities that followed a 1999 vote for independence..

Three Catholic priests were among 27 people slaughtered by pro-Jakarta militias armed with machetes, spears and homemade guns when they attacked the refugee-packed Hail Mary church in the southern border town of Suai on September 6.

First Private Soni Iskandar said he was asked by Suai's then military chief Captain Sugito to help him bury the bodies the day after the attack. "Mr Gito [Sugito] told me: 'We've got bodies in the cars. Let's bury them,'" Iskandar told the court.

Iskandar said he transported bodies in a pick-up truck while Sugito drove a minibus carrying corpses. A third vehicle loaded with bodies was driven by an East Timorese civilian. Sugito, himself and several East Timorese buried "about 25" bodies near a beach about 30 kilometers from the church, he said. They were buried "properly" in three separate mass graves, he added.

Sugito was one of five middle ranking officers in the dock Wednesday, as their trial for alleged gross human rights violations resumed. The other defendants were Colonel Herman Sedyono, Lieutenant Colonel Lilik Kushardianto, Major Ahmad Syamsuddin, and Adjunct Senior Commissioner Gatot Subiyaktoro. Prosecutors have accused the five of ignoring warnings or news of the massacre.

They said the attack was carried out by the pro-Jakarta Laksaur militia, who they have said were funded by the then Indonesian district administration and guided by the local military. The massacre took place two days after the results of the independence vote were announced, showing nearly 80 percent of East Timorese had opted to break away from Indonesian rule.

Another witness, First Sergeant I Wayan Suka Antara, said no soldier was present when the church was attacked and that there had been no sign earlier that the refugees were under threat.

Suka Antara said he and eight other soldiers rushed to the church after hearing a shot and tried to contain the violence. He denied that his superiors ignored the news of the attack.

"I saw the chief of staff [defendant Major Ahmad Syamsuddin] try hard to ward off the crowd. But we were outnumbered," he said. He said he did not see any dead bodies at the time, but took three injured people to the local military headquarters for treatment.

Dozens of military officers again packed the officers' trial at the Central Jakarta district court. Once-feared militia chief Eurico Guterres, who will eventually stand trial, was also present.

A total of 18 military, police, militia and civilian officials are due eventually to face trial over the attacks by pro-Jakarta militias against independence supporters in East Timor in 1999.

Militiamen backed by Indonesian soldiers waged a campaign of intimidation before East Timor's vote in August 1999 to split from Indonesia, and a "scorched earth" revenge campaign afterwards. They killed hundreds of people, torched entire towns and herded more than 250,000 people into Indonesian-ruled West Timor after the vote.

Jakarta has come under strong international pressure to punish the atrocities, with the United States refusing to resume high-level military contacts until it does. But international rights groups are sceptical that the long-delayed rights court will deliver justice.