Dili – Unidentified men set the Dili headquarters of East Timor's main political party Fretilin on fire today, but there were no casualties, a member of the fire brigade said.

The fire partially gutted the office building and spread to three nearby homes, sending plumes of thick black smoke into the air.

"The fire started around 7.30am (2230 Saturday GMT) and spread from the Fretilin office to three houses," a member of Dili's fire brigade, Juvencio Madeira, said. Madeira said no-one was injured in the fire.

Fretilin is the ruling party in East Timor and former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, who stepped down after a breakdown in law and order in May, is its secretary-general. Alkatiri's replacement, Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, does not belong to any political party.