Dili – Hundreds of Indonesians armed with bows and arrows have blocked roads in West Timor to keep UN aid officials from continuing repatriation of East Timorese refugees, a spokesman for the UN High Commission for Refugees said Wednesday in Dili.

"It is impossible to say when we can resume our [repatriation] activities as the unrest is generalized" around Kupang, the capital of Indonesian West Timor, he said.

Protesting what they called "attacks" by Indonesian soldiers and the "exclusive" provision of national and international aid to the refugees, hundreds of local residents, armed with traditional weapons, had blocked roads from three refugee camps to Kupang, the UNHCR official said. The UNHCR had announced Tuesday that it was resuming repatriation operations after a two-week suspension due to the unrest.