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Rebel commander Gastau Salsinha (right) and 11 of his men, believed to have carried out the ambush on Gusmao, turned themselves in with 11 firearms, Lt. Fernando Gausege said. -- PHOTO: AFP
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DILI (Timor Leste) - A DOZEN rebels suspected of involvement in an attack on East Timor's prime minister surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, handing over automatic weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition, a military official said.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped unharmed from an ambush of his motorcade on Feb 11 by mutinous soldiers, while President Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, nearly died in a separate attack the same day.
Rebel commander Gastau Salsinha and 11 of his men, believed to have carried out the ambush on Gusmao, turned themselves in with 11 firearms, Lt. Fernando Gausege said.
Mr Ramos-Horta, who returned to the country last week after recovering in an Australian hospital from gunshot wounds, met the rebels at the Presidential Palace.
'I am happy our sons returned to Dili and surrendered their weapons,' he told reporters.
'The truth will be established by the court.'
The attacks showed the continuing volatility of East Timor since it declared independence in 2002, following decades of harsh rule by Indonesia and a period of UN administration.
In 2006, dozens of people were killed in clashes between government troops and hundreds of mutinous soldiers who said they faced discrimination.
Tens of thousands of people fled their homes and still live in squalid tent camps in the capital. -- AP
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