Indonesian Casualties in East Timor, 1975–1999: Analysis of an Official List

Abstract

The Indonesian armed forces have published on the internet a detailed list of their deaths in combat over the course of the occupation of East Timor. Despite some sloppy mistakes, it appears to be largely accurate. The corrected list shows about 2,100 regular soldiers died. Another list of 1,500 East Timorese irregulars was not made public. Half the casualties occurred before the end of 1978, when resistance was strongest. About 80 percent of Indonesia's battalions, from all over the country, took at least one death. The figures illustrate a pattern consistent with low-intensity warfare.