CANBERRA - Nine victims of the violence in East Timor are being treated in Royal Darwin Hospital.
At least two are police officers, with one named in reports as Philippine police Chief Inspector Edgar Layon, who was wounded in Dili when East Timorese soldiers opened fire on unarmed policemen, killing nine instantly and wounding 27 others.
Layon, 45, was one of five Philippine police serving as advisers with the UN office in East Timor.
A second officer also was in hospital in a critical condition after being shot in the chest in the same incident, which is being investigated by Australian Federal Police.
Seven other people were airlifted to Darwin tonight, along with a 12-month-old baby whose condition was not related to the violence which flared after the sacking of 600 Timorese soldiers.
Royal Darwin Hospital medical superintendent Dr Len Notaras (Notaras) said the wounded were typical war zone-type injuries, including from gunshots and bomb blasts.
"The injuries are all pretty well of a violent conflict - wounds of war," Dr Notaras said.
"Being in the fog of war, we're still not entirely sure of what the injuries are.
"But we're seeing things like severe gunshot wounds to the upper chest, in one case abdominal gunshot wounds with ruptured diaphragms, another one with gunshot wounds to the neck.
"It's penetrating soft-tissue injuries."
Dr Notaras said he believed most of the injured were associated with the East Timorese police force.
He expected all would require immediate surgery and, in some cases, amputations.
A specialist chest surgeon from Western Australia has been brought in along with trauma nurses from several states.
Royal Darwin Hospital is the site of the $68 million national trauma centre and has been involved in the aftermath of the Bali bombings and previous violence in East Timor.
"That's been well-tested and continues to be well-tested," Dr Notaras said.
The hospital is working closely with the Darwin Private Hospital, which is receiving some of the less seriously injured patients.
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