Dili – Multinational troops clamped down on East Timor's militia with a raid and a high-profile arrest Friday and issued warnings against Indonesian soldiers wreaking havoc as they retreat.
The soldiers have burned their barracks behind them and let out volleys of automatic gunfire in defiant parting gestures as they are shipped out of the territory.
The chief of the multinational force Major General Peter Cosgrove admitted Friday his troops were having difficulties with the Indonesian military. "It's hard to say there is a uniform relationship," he said, after some of them opened fire near British Gurkhas Thursday.
A UN official in Dili told reporters there were fears the military has given the nod to the troublemakers in a bid to discredit the International Force in East Timor (Interfet) before it can expand to full strength.
"We think they want things to turn real bad for a while after they have washed their hands of security so they can say they were needed to take care of East Timor," he said.
Reconnaisance flights Friday found more towns almost completely levelled by the departing soldiers and pro-Jakarta militias responsible for a wave of violence after East Timorese voted on August 30 to break with Indonesia.
"There were very few signs of people in the major towns," said World Vision aid worker Sanjay Sojwal. "In Dili, they have left the shells at least," he said. "It's quite evident that it's very systematic."
Indonesia said the military will on Monday hand over the security of East Timor to Interfet, which is now at about half its planned strength of 7,500.
Cosgrove issued a public warning to Indonesia's top soldier here, Major General Kiki Syahnakri, saying he expected that after the handover his forces would ensure "weapons are not available for any pilfering elements."
The army has been accused of arming and organising the militia who are opposed to independence from Indonesia, which has ruled the territory since 1975.
Cosgrove directly accused Indonesian soldiers of working with the brutal gangs, saying Syahnakri agreed in talks there had been "interaction".
As he spoke, the peacekeepers mounted a heavily armed raid on burned-out buildings on Dili's harbourfront and a sweep of surrounding streets, arresting four pro-Jakarta militiamen.
The Australian-led forces have arrested several dozen militia suspects and confiscated hundreds of weapons during street searches. Their biggest catch is Caitano da Silva, an alleged platoon commander in the brutal Aitarak (Thorn) militia arrested Friday.
Ground forces spokesman Major Chip Henriss-Anderssen said the arrest sent a clear message to the militias: "You cannot run, you cannot hide. Justice is here." Frustration mounted Friday among aid workers struggling to get supplies to the militias' victims, up to 190,000 civilians who scattered into the mountains and jungles to escape the violence.
They warned the threat of attack from the marauding gangs, as well as pilfering by Indonesian troops, had seriously compromised relief efforts.
World Food Program (WFP) spokeswoman Abby Spring said a cargo of aid sent to Dare, in the hills outside Dili where up to 37,000 refugees are sheltering, was intercepted by Indonesian soldiers and half of it stolen.
The UN has some 6,000 tonnes of rice in its Dili warehouse, enough to feed 500,000 people for a month. But so far only the aid convoy to Dare has left the capital.
Australian Defence Force chief Chris Barrie said Friday after inspecting conditions he was concerned about just how international forces would safely get humanitarian aid out of Dili.
"That's a concern to me and I know it's a concern to General Cosgrove," he said, adding it could be weeks before aid moved out of Dili by road.
Cosgrove has said he will speed up the deployment of his force following threats the anti-independence militia could mount an attack and amid increasing aggression in Dili from Indonesian troops.
A company of Filipino rangers arrived Friday to swell the numbers of the force which is now encamped at three places in the devastated territory.
The White House has warned that any attacks against peacekeepers in East Timor would be an "extraordinary miscalculation". The Pentagon said Friday US Defense Secretary William Cohen is to visit Jakarta next as part of an Asian tour.
More details of atrocities committed by the army-backed militia emerged in an Amnesty International report which said 35 East Timorese refugees were killed and their bodies dumped from a ship carrying them to West Timor.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson called Thursday for an international inquiry into the Timor terror and accused Indonesian security forces of complicity in the militia rampage.