Ainaro is a town in

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, the capital of the Ainaro suco, the Ainaro administrative post and the

Ainaro Municipality Ainaro (, ) is one of 13 municipalities of East Timor, municipalities of East Timor, in the southwest part of the country. It has a population of 59,175 (census 2010) and an area of 804 km2. Its capital is the city of Ainaro, a small mou ...

, and is located in the southwest part of the country. The town of Ainaro is located 78 km south of

Dili Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...

, the national capital.

Destruction of Ainaro

During the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n occupation from 1975 to 1999, Ainaro was home to a large contingent of

Indonesian National Armed Forces The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Indonesian Army, Army (''TNI-AD''), Indonesian Navy, Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Indonesian Air Force, Air Force ('' ...

(TNI)-backed

pro-Indonesia militia Pro-Indonesia militias in East Timor, commonly known as Wanra (), were active in the final years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, Indonesian occupation leading up to the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum, 1999 independence refe ...

s in the months leading up to the 30 August 1999

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. As a result, it suffered near-total devastation during the TNI-orchestrated scorched earth operation with more than 95 percent of its buildings destroyed.

Climate

Ainaro's climate lies on the border between a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Aw'') and a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(''Am''). Compared to Dili, Ainaro receives about two-and-a-half times more annual rainfall because it lies on the windward side of the southeastern

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...

, which especially during the first half of Dili's dry season give moisture to the southeastern side of Timor whilst the northern side is dry.

Sister cities

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

References

External links

*
Madison-Ainaro Sister City Alliance

Cafe Timor Just Coffee
{{Authority control Populated places in Timor-Leste Ainaro Municipality