Operation Warden
In-House EventsAlternative names: Warden, Operation Warden
Description
Operation Warden refers to broader Australian Defence Force involvement in East Timor during and immediately after the International Force East Timor (INTERFET), including logistical support from the Australian support area (i.e. support from outside East Timor). INTERFET was an Australian-led UN-sanctioned multinational peacekeeping operation, tasked to restore law and order to East Timor after the August 1999 plebiscite led to an escalation of violence. INTERFET comprised nearly 11,500 personnel from 22 contributing nations, including 5,500 Australian personnel from the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, and Royal Australian Air Force. Australia also contributed financial assistance and the force commander, Major General Peter Cosgrove, and played a leading role in the mission’s logistics and support. The largest deployment of Australian troops since the Second World War, INTERFET brought an end to the militia violence in East Timor without causing a diplomatic rift between Australia and Indonesia. It secured the region, the western ‘Tactical Coordination Line’ with Indonesia, and the enclave of Oecussi. INTERFET handed over responsibility for East Timor to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) in February 2000.
Dates
1999-09-16 – 2000-04-10