Dili – An Australian member of the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor fired on two suspected militiamen near the border with Indonesian West Timor, a force spokesman said Monday.

The incident occurred early Sunday morning about eight kilometers east of the East Timorese town of Balibo, said Australian army Captain John Liston. Australian soldiers observed two unidentified men moving through a forest near a UN sentry point.

"When one suspected militiaman, armed with a rifle and dressed in camouflage fatigues, attempted to open fire at a peacekeeper, he responded by firing three rounds in self-defense," Liston said. The suspects then withdrew. Peacekeepers later informed Indonesian military officers stationed on the other side of the border.

Groups of armed pro-Indonesian militia have infiltrated East Timor since the arrival of international peacekeepers in 1999. Last year, two peacekeepers were killed in militia attacks close the border. But since the onset of the rainy season in October, the number of militia incursions into East Timor has decreased.