Dili, also spelled Dilli or Dilly, is the capital of East Timor. It lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Dili is the chief port and commercial centre for East Timor. It also has an airport, renamed after independence leader Nicolau Lobato , used for commercial and military flights.

Dili was settled about 1520 by the Portuguese, who made it the capital of Portuguese Timor in 1596. During World War II, Dili was occupied by the Japanese. East Timor unilaterally declared independence from Portugal on November 28th 1975. However, nine days later, on December 7th, Indonesian forces invaded Dili. On July 17th, 1976, Indonesia annexed East Timor, which it called Timor Timur, with Dili as its capital.

However, a brutal guerrilla war ensued between Indonesian and pro-independence forces, during which tens of thousands of civilians were killed. Although Dili itself was under Indonesian control, the East Timorese resistance did manage to attack Indonesian property. Consequently, it was not until 1989 that foreign nationals or Indonesian civilians were allowed into the '27th province'.

Media coverage of the 1991 Dili Massacre revitalised international support of the East Timorese independence movement. In 1999, East Timor was placed under UN supervision and on May 20 2002, Dili became the capital of the independent Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.