Huw Watkin – Residents in East Timor's capital are turning to the Catholic Church for relief as supplies of rice and other essential foodstuffs continue to dwindle amid fears of escalating civil unrest.

Sporadic clashes in recent weeks between groups advocating autonomy from Indonesia and those favouring continued integration have driven hundreds of mainly Indonesian residents to leave the city and several observers predict the political situation will soon deteriorate further.

East Timor imports most of its rice from other parts of Indonesia, but the past month has seen those imports dry up.

Retailers in Dili are reportedly hoarding what few supplies remain and people in the city claim they have been unable to buy rice for two days.

One Timorese businessman, who requested anonymity, claimed the shortage was being engineered by authorities in what he maintained was "a political game".

"They know that 80 per cent of East Timorese want to break away from Jakarta, so they are punishing us," he said.

"But we have survived 23 years of this sort of thing. We are very tough and they will not break us. They will just make us angry." He said he had obtained rice from a Catholic priest.

A source close to the territory's Governor denied the rice shortage had been created to punish East Timorese calling for autonomy or independence.

"The Government only supplies rice for its civil servants and the military," he said. "All other rice is imported by businessmen and they don't want to risk losing their stocks if there is an escalation of trouble here."

But Basilio Araujo, the spokesman for the pro-Indonesian Forum Persatuan Demokrasi Dan Keadilan, said it was unlikely the Government would take steps to ease the food shortage. "The Government has become frustrated with the situation in East Timor and this is one way of forcing a solution," he said. "By not paying attention to the problem, this will force the people to show whether they want to be part of Indonesia or not."

The food crisis comes amid a continuing shortage of drugs and other medical supplies, which expatriate medical personnel claim could lead to more than 100 deaths a day.

An estimated 200,000 thousand East Timorese have died – many of them from starvation and disease – since Indonesia annexed the former Portuguese colony in 1975.