Macau – A former pro-Jakarta militiaman has claimed that Indonesian forces eliminated more than 2,000 East Timorese by dumping them in waters off the East Timor coast.

Contacted by the newspaper "Macau Hoje", Francisco Domingues said he "accompanied Indonesian marines transporting 120 East Timorese in a front-loading military craft". The passengers were thrown into shark-infested waters near the coast town of Batugade, he stated.

Domingues told the Macau daily that he escaped to Indonesian West Timor because he "couldn't take another such cargo" of East Timorese. "Six vessels were taking men out to the sea: two in Batugade, two in Baucau and two in Manatuto", he added.