East Timor ? East Timor declared a state of emergency today after attacks on the country’s top leaders in a failed coup left the president in “extremely serious” condition with gunshot wounds.

The assassination attempt Monday against President Jose Ramos-Horta and the failed attack on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao – East Timor’s icons of independence – thrust the desperately poor country into a fresh crisis amid fears of more unrest and political turmoil.

Surgeons operated on Ramos-Horta for three hours overnight to remove bullet fragments and repair his chest wounds, Dr. Len Notaros, the general manager of the Royal Darwin Hospital, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. today.