Chaos Spreads in East Timor

DILI, East Timor —  Armed gangs left a path of devastation across East Timor’s capital Saturday, sending thousands of people fleeing and deepening a crisis that foreign intervention troops have so far been unable to quell.

The violence is raising concerns that the world’s youngest nation is plunging into a civil war, seven years after its traumatic break from 24 years of repressive occupation by the regional giant, Indonesia.

The conflict erupted this week after a weeks-long dispute between the military and soldiers who were fired -- nearly half the country’s 1,400-man army -- but it is rooted in the events that led to independence in 1999 and in the festering distrust among the people of East Timor.

After three days of gun battles between the army and renegade troops camped in the hills, gangs of youths swept through neighborhoods Saturday, smashing windows and torching cars and houses. They attacked people in the streets with machetes, slingshots and spears.

With chaos spreading, the United Nations said it would relocate employees’ families and nonessential staff to Darwin, Australia. The U.N. envoy to East Timor, Sukehiro Hasegawa, said the relocation was temporary. The U.N. will keep more than 100 international staffers in East Timor while others work from Australia, Hasegawa said.

Also today, a Philippine air force plane evacuated dozens of Filipinos, officials said.

What began as a break within the armed forces has spilled over to the general population, which finds itself dividing along the lines of east and west, or those perceived to have been pro-Indonesia against those who wanted independence.

Hundreds of peacekeepers from Australia and Malaysia, called in by the East Timor government, have taken up positions around the capital, Dili.

Australian troops began patrolling on foot and in armored vehicles. The roar of Black Hawk helicopters overhead has failed to deter the gangs. Sporadic gunfire filled the night sky Saturday, and flames glowed in the city.

Prime Minister Mari Bin Amude Alkatiri called the violence “planned and opportunistic actions of gangs,” and he said it was part of a plot to overthrow his government. “What is in motion is an attempt to stage a coup d’etat,” he said. “It is obvious that, first and foremost, we hope that this intervention puts an end to the violence that we have been going through over the last days. This will take time.”

Australia will send an additional 50 police officers to East Timor, Prime Minister John Howard said today. He said a final load of equipment for a force of 1,300 troops Canberra had committed would arrive today, but he added that an extra police element was needed.

The new contingent would leave within 24 hours to join about 15 Australian police officers in East Timor, he said.

The upheaval has rocked the East Timor government and led to talk it may not survive. Rumors are rife President Jose Alexandre Gusmao will fire Alkatiri or dissolve Parliament.

The violence was triggered by the March firing of 600 disgruntled soldiers.

After staging deadly riots last month, the sacked troops began ambushing soldiers in the capital Tuesday, sparking days of gun battles with the military that have so far killed two dozen people and injured scores more.

In the two worst incidents, six died in a blaze at the internal affairs minister’s home -- five of them children -- and 10 unarmed policemen were killed by soldiers in a botched attempt by U.N. police to stop the clashes.

Seven people were reported wounded Saturday.