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E Timor force signs border deal with Indonesia

MOTAAIN (Indonesia): Indonesia and the international forces in East Timor on Wednesday signed a deal designed to prevent clashes on the sensitive Timor border.

The deal was signed by Major General Peter Cosgrove, commander of the multinational force known as INTERFET, and Major General Kiki Syahnakri, who heads the Bali-based Udayana military command which includes Indonesia's West Timor.

It was signed at the border village of Motaain, where an Indonesian policeman was killed in a border clash in October, shortly after the Australian-led international forces arrived in East Timor.

Cosgrove said the agreement would be respected by a new U.N. peacekeeping force due shortly to replace INTERFET.

"I would like to state our agreement with this document in front of us," said Syahnakri, the last Indonesian commander in East Timor.

Details of the agreement were not revealed, but Cosgrove has in the past called for the two sides to agree to use the same maps to avoid border misunderstandings.-Reuters