A Guiseley aid worker's latest mission was under way today with a posting set to take him to crisis-torn East Timor.

Earlier this year the Telegraph & Argus revealed how Marcus Oxley was helping to ease the suffering of thousands of the refugees who had fled the troubles in Kosovo.

At the time Mr Oxley was working as Care International's co-ordinator in a huge refugee camp in Macedonia.

Now, as the new emergencies manager for Care Australia - part of the Care International confederation of relief and development organisations - the 39-year-old is preparing for a possible stint in East Timor.

Mr Oxley, who grew up in Guiseley, flew out to Australia on Saturday and was due to be briefed on his new role today. He said: "East Timor is one of the places Care Australia covers, so I think it's just a question of when I will go there.

"People are being evacuated from East Timor at the moment, so I don't think I'll be going there immediately because of the security situation.''

Asked about the possible danger in East Timor, whose people last month voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from Indonesia, the former civil engineer said: "I don't mind - over the last ten years I've worked in a lot of different conflict zones including Cambodia, Somalia and Angola, it's the nature of the job I do.

"I'm a bit worried - but when you've been doing this job long enough, you know when to keep your head down.

"I'm looking forward to going there. It's always interesting going to different places and seeing different people - it's one of the attractions of the work.''

Mr Oxley, who lives in Guiseley with his parents Janet and John Townsend when he is not overseas, added: "My job will involve overseeing and trying to develop Care Australia's capacity to respond effectively to emergencies such as Kosovo and East Timor.

"Some of it will be done from the office in Canberra, with the rest involving overseas work to look at how our operations are being implemented on the ground and whether they're effective.''

Care International staff, who had been providing humanitarian help to the tens of thousands of internal refugees in East Timor, were evacuated to Darwin from the capital Dili last week amidst violent scenes which have seen armed pro-Jakarta militia attacking aid workers, UN staff and others.

A spokesman said it was not known when they would be returning, adding: "We've still got some local staff there and are very concerned for their safety.''

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