Dili – The UN referendum oversight mission in East Timor has received "all sorts of threats" of hostile actions, a spokesman said Thursday. So far, no attacks have been carried out against the week-old outpost.

Most of the threats are coming from militias battling to keep the province part of Indonesia.

"We've received all sorts of threats," UN spokesman David Wimhurst told reporters during a news briefing. He said most of the information is coming second-hand from the opposing forces, who favor independence for the violence-torn province.

On August 8, voters in East Timor are expected to choose independence in the UN-sponsored referendum, and to reject an alternative that would give them autonomous status within Indonesia.

Wimhurst said the threats to the UN mission generally involve plans of "harassment or an intimidation campaign."

The spokesman said: "Much of that information seems to be solid." Wimhurst said the UN mission informs police of any threats it hears about, while emphasizing that East Timor is rife with rumors. "The situation here is tense," he added.

Many people fear the quarter-century of fighting that has claimed up to 250,000 lives will continue after the referendum, no matter which side wins.

UN officials, numbering about 100 with a steady flow of new arrivals, are working from a school complex on the outskirts of the regional capital of Dili.