The UN ends its peacekeeping mission in East Timor Monday after 13 years in Asia's youngest nation following a bloody transition to independence as the country faces the challenge of tackling rampant poverty. UN forces first entered the territory around the vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999 that gave way to political unrest and bloodshed, and around 1,500 peacekeepers were based there since.
The final batch of troops and logistics staff left in the morning as the mission prepared to take down its flag, departing from a country struggling with widespread malnutrition and maternal mortality rates among the world's worst. Calm has been restored to the half-island nation of 1.1 million, and leaders said they were excited about their nation's new direction despite the many problems that lie ahead for the fragile democracy, officially called Timor-Leste.
"In the end we have to say goodbye to the UN with... high appreciation for what they have been doing in Timor-Leste," Deputy Prime Minister Fernando La Sama de Araujo told AFP at end-of-year festivities outside the government palace Sunday night. He said East Timor would first focus on improving schools, hospitals and human resources in the public sector.