Australian troops plan for six months in Timor

CANBERRA - Australia plans to keep troops in East Timor for at least six months but hopes to scale down its deployment as order returns to the tiny nation, a top military official said today.

Australia is leading a 2500-strong contingent of international peacekeepers in East Timor after it appealed for help to quell a rebellion by almost half of the army, which led to widespread violence in the capital Dili.

"Our planning base is on the basis of a six-month deployment," military commander Angus Houston told a parliamentary hearing. "My hope is that as things stabilise, we can adjust the force downwards at some time in the future. But I'm not focused on that at the moment."

At least 20 people have been killed, thousands displaced and dozens of homes burnt in the violence, sparked by the sacking of about 600 soldiers who had protested about discrimination within the 1400-strong army.

Houston said the arrival of peacekeepers had broken the initial cycle of violence in East Timor but organised gangs and criminal elements were behind continued rioting in Dili.

"What we've seen since then is some sort of organised rioting, organised chaos on the streets," Houston said.

He said the gangs were mainly armed with sticks and stones, as well as home-made swords and machetes.

Australia last led troops into East Timor in 1999 to restore law and order after violence by militia groups, supported by elements of the Indonesian military, following a vote to break free of Indonesian rule.

- REUTERS