Donald Greenlees, Dili – The body of the slain army mutineer who led attacks on the president and prime minister of East Timor was buried in the garden of his home here Thursday in a peaceful ceremony witnessed by hundreds of mourners.

As heavy monsoon clouds gathered overhead and a light rain fell, family members and East Timorese who either sympathized with the cause of the former army major, Alfredo Reinado, or simply wanted to mark his passing watched the burial from crowded muddy alleyways or the rooftops of neighboring houses.

What United Nations officials had feared might be the catalyst for an eruption of violence over the death of a man who had a strong popular following instead suggested that East Timorese might be weary of the periodic unrest and small rebellions that have hampered the country's development.

Since the attacks Monday, in which President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot and wounded and the motorcade of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was fired on, East Timor has been under a state of emergency because of concerns the incidents could trigger rioting.

While the funeral of Reinado and another slain rebel took place without incident in Dili, Australian special forces soldiers combed the mountains to the south of the capital for the armed men who joined them in the attacks.

Officials from the United Nations, which oversees policing here, and a separate military International Stabilization Force said an operation was under way in the vicinity of a historic Catholic seminary at Dare in the mountains behind Dili to capture Reinado's accomplices, estimated to be fewer than 20 men.

It followed reports that the men had been sighted in the area. The area of the search was sealed off by armored personnel carriers, while helicopters hovered overhead.

The men are believed to be the remnants of a military police unit that deserted with Reinado in 2006 in the midst of a wider internal dispute within the East Timorese Army over discrimination in promotions and conditions.

The mishandling of the dispute resulted in an outbreak of violence in which 37 people were killed and tens of thousands were forced from their homes. It also contributed to the collapse of the first elected government since East Timor achieved statehood almost six years ago.

Government leaders, who until the attacks on Ramos-Horta and Gusmao on Monday had sought a negotiated settlement with Reinado's men, have called on the rebels to surrender or face a military solution. With pressure building on the now leaderless rebels, confidence is growing within the two-year-old UN Integrated Mission in East Timor that the rebels might be persuaded to give up without a fight.

A portrait of Reinado on a banner hanging at his burial depicted the mutineer in a Che Guevara-like manner, in beret and goatee. A UN official said there appeared to be no one with his leadership ability or charisma to take his place among the remaining rebels.

Some contact has occurred between the government and the rebels through intermediaries, the official said. The government insists there will be no deals to secure a surrender now that the rebels have crossed a line by shooting on the country's two top leaders.

There were indications that the resolve of the rebels might be wavering. They have indicated through intermediaries that the attacks Monday had not proceeded according to plan, reinforcing speculation that Reinado had not intended to shoot the president, who had been a stronger supporter of dialogue.