Suai is a city in East Timor, in Suai Subdistrict. It has a population of 9,866 and is located to the southwest of

Dili Dili (Portuguese/Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in ...

, the national capital. Suai is the capital of the Cova Lima District, which is in the southwest of the country. It is located just a few kilometers from the Timor Sea, on the south side of the island. Suai was the location of the

Suai Church Massacre The Suai Church massacre occurred on 6 September 1999, in Suai, Cova Lima District in southwestern East Timor, two days after the results of the independence referendum were announced. Massacre According to the International Commission of Inqui ...

in September 1999. It was one of a number of massacres perpetrated by a

pro-Indonesia militia During the East Timor independence referendum in 1999, pro-Indonesia militias refers to paramilitary militias in East Timor that were loyal to the Indonesian government. They operated during the final years of the Indonesian occupation of East Ti ...

in the time of the Indonesian withdrawal of East Timor. Following the events of 1999, Suai entered into a friendship program with the

City of Port Phillip The City of Port Phillip is a local government area of Victoria, Australia on the northern shores of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's central business district. It has an area of 20.7 km² and had a population of 113,200 in June 2018. Po ...

, a bayside municipality south of Melbourne,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Together they are working towards assisting the community of Suai recover. Suai is served by

Suai Airport Suai Airport , officially Commander in Chief of FALINTIL, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, International Airport ( pt, Aeroporto Internacional Comandante-Chefe das FALINTIL, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, ), and also known as Covalima Airport, is an airport ...

which was expanded in 2017.

References

External links

* {{District capitals of East Timor Populated places in East Timor Cova Lima Municipality Timor Sea