| Official Name: | Aileu |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | East Timor |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in East Timor |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name1: | Aileu |
| Subdivision Name2: | Aileu |
| Subdivision Type3: | Sucos |
| Subdivision Name3: | Seloi Malere, Liurai |
| Area Total Km2: | 251.48 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 97.09 |
| Population As Of: | 2015 |
| Population Total: | 2788 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Population Blank1: | Tetum, Mambai |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
| Population Blank2: | Majority Catholic, small groups of Protestants and animists |
| Coordinates: | -8.7167°N 159°W |
| Elevation M: | 1182 |
| Blank Name: | Climate |
| Blank Info: | Am |
Aileu is the main township in Aileu District, East Timor. It is located 47 km (29 mi) southwest of Dili, the national capital, and had a population of 2,788 in 2015.[1] In Portuguese Timor, the city was known as Vila General Carmona, after the Portuguese dictator António Óscar Carmona, but after World War II it was renamed. Aileu means "bent tree" in Mambai.[2]
In 1903, a rebellion staged in Aileu against the colonial rulers failed. In January 1912, it served as a Portuguese base against the rebellion of Manufahi.[3]
Between 1942 and 1945, the Japanese occupied Portuguese Timor. On August 31, 1942, the town was invaded by Colunas Negras, the Timorese allies of the Japanese invaders. Five Portuguese soldiers, as well as several civil servants and missionaries, were killed. A memorial in Aileu commemorates the massacre today.
Indonesian soldiers set up a relocation camp in Aileu for the East Timorese at the end of 1979. In early September, during the 1999 East Timorese crisis, residents of various sucos in the area were expelled from their homes by the Aku Hidup dengan Integrasi militia of Indonesia. The Seloi Craic suco was destroyed on September 6, the houses burned down and livestock slaughtered.
At the end of 1999, there were temporary plans to make Aileu the new capital of an independent East Timor. These were rejected in favor of Dili.[4]
City of Merri-bek, Australia [5]