East Timor is an ill-starred land that has endured more than its share of violence, neglect and deprivation.
In 2006, only four years after it gained independence, violent clashes erupted yet again on the streets of Dili, East Timor's capital. The troubles began in February with a small-scale mutiny in the military over pay and promotion grievances. That ignited a simmering feud between President Xanana Gusmao and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.
After the prime minister dismissed the mutineers, violence flared between military units and subsequently the police. The clashes were linked to the political conflict at the top, but were also driven by ethnic tensions between easterners and westerners.