Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid faced international and domestic pressure Wednesday to end the bloody fighting between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku islands, which has raised the prospect of foreign peacekeepers.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York said he spoke with Wahid and urged him to take "all necessary measures" to stop the unrest, which has claimed more than 4,000 lives in the past 18 months. "He did assure me that his government is doing its best and will intensify their efforts to bring the situation under control and we have decided to stay in touch," Annan told reporters.

A fresh wave of violence in the Maluku archipelago in the past month and the documented involvement of Indonesian army troops in the fighting has led to rising calls for the deployment of UN peacekeepers. Both Christians and Muslims have accused security forces of taking sides in the long-running conflict, which has also created half a million refugees.

Wahid has repeatedly indicated the country will not seek foreign military assistance to help restore security in the islands.

But Indonesia's police chief warned the pressure for peacekeepers would be irresistible unless Jakarta could stop the bloodshed. "We object to the presence of any foreign peacekeeping force," police General Rusdiharjo said in Jakarta before a cabinet meeting. "Consequently, we have to prove that we are capable of solving the Maluku problems immediately. Otherwise it will be hard to resist [foreign intervention]," he said.

There were no reports of clashes in islands Wednesday, but mobs burned houses in the Urimenseng area of Ambon left vacant by residents who had fled the violence, an Indonesian Red Cross volunteer said.

Local military and police vowed Wednesday to punish troops who were taking part in the violence instead of trying to control it. In a television interview late Wednesday, Maluku police chief Brigadier General Firman Gani conceded some members of the security forces were siding with either Muslims or Christians.

"I and the military chief have agreed to take stern action against police who are said to side with Christians and soldiers who are biased toward Muslims," Gani told the SCTV television channel. He said security authorities would consider biased security personnel as "rioters" and kick them out of the forces.

Gani argued security forces had been unable to restore order in Ambon because they were overwhelmed with too many problems, despite a state of civil emergency imposed in the city last month. But he said peacekeepers were not a solution since they would have little or no knowledge of "the core of the problems" in the islands.

Wahid said Monday he had discussed the unrest with Annan by phone, but ruled out any foreign involvement, save for logistical support. Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said Tuesday that Indonesia would "never" tolerate foreign intervention, although he welcomed humanitarian aid for the refugees.