Dili – Indonesian soldiers helped 85 East Timorese refugees cross the border back into their homeland under heavy rain Saturday, a United Nations refugee official said.

The military-assisted repatriation came on the eve of a six-day visit by a United Nations Security Council delegation to the region to check on Jakarta's handling of refugees and militia based on the Indonesian half of Timor island.

"The TNI [Indonesian military] helped them cross in a heavy rainstorm north-west of Suai," UN High Commissioner for Refugees' spokesman Peter Kessler told AFP. "The TNI prepared this group a few days ago and let us know in advance, and they've also informed us that they'll be bringing another group to bring across at the same place on Monday," Kessler said.

Monday is when the Security Council delegation is due to visit Suai, a southern border town 110 kilometers south-west of the capital Dili. Another 18 refugees crossed back over the border on their own at Maliana on Saturday, Kessler said.

A total of 556 refugees have returned home this month, bringing the total of returnees since aid workers fled West Timor on September 7 and 8 in the wake of the killings of three UN staff there, to 1,729, according to UNHCR data.

Kessler said Saturday was not the first time the Indonesian military had helped refugees return, but they did not do so frequently. "We definitely would like to see the TNI help to organise similar returns on a larger scale more frequently," Kessler said.