Australian and New Zealand troops will arrive soon in East Timor to maintain order in the country, which has been racked by violence in past weeks, the young country's foreign minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, said today.
"We have asked help from Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia. Australia and New Zealand will come soon," Ramos-Horta told reporters after meeting with diplomats from those countries.
Shooting between a group of rebel military policemen led by an Australian-trained major and loyal government troops killed at least one person and wounded six in East Timor yesterday, and there was fresh fighting today.
"The foreign troops will work together with the government and (East Timor's military) to take away weapons from civilians, including those from Alfredo Reinaldo's group," the minister said, referring to the rebel major.
Rebel major Alfredo Reinaldo
Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said earlier that parts of East Timor had been reported descending into violence and pledged to send military help if needed.
Mr Reinaldo and his men left their station last month to support the plight of the more than 500 soldiers sacked by the cash-strapped East Timor government earlier in April.
The sackings prompted demonstrations joined by people the government says have broader motives. Five people were killed and thousands of East Timorese fled their homes when protests by the disgruntled soldiers initially turned violent late last month.
Protesters burned cars, threw rocks at police and officers fired into the crowd.
Australia led a UN-backed intervention force to East Timor in 1999 to quell violence by pro-Indonesian militias after East Timorese voted for independence from Jakarta.
An estimated 1,000 people died in the violence. UN peacekeepers left a year ago and the UN mission of 130 administrators, police and military advisers was scheduled to finish in East Timor on May 20th, but was extended for a month after the riots.
Australia's military deployment to East Timor soured relations with Indonesia for several years