Mark Colvin: We begin the programme tonight in Dili, capital of East Timor, where there's been a major and ominous development involving a shoot-out involving pro-autonomy militias and pro-independence supporters. Our correspondent, Mark Bowling, was in the middle of it and he's just endured a fairly dangerous situation getting out of it. Mark joins me on the satellite phone now. Mark where exactly are you and how did you get to safety, to start off with?

Mark Bowling: Mark, we are down near the Dili waterfront after running the gauntlet of a militia gang. They fired at our driver. He drove very courageously through the militia gang as they aimed pipe guns at him.

They threw rocks at the car, they smashed the windows in the car. My radio Australia colleague was hit in the elbow. He has now tourniqued his elbow up. It's not bleeding extensively but we are ... we are now safe and out of that situation.

But I think it's suffice to say that the streets of Dili now are a battlefield between the pro-Jakarta militias and youths who are mainly pro-independence youths.

Mark Colvin: Do you mean your colleague was hit by a bullet or a rock?

Mark Bowling: He was hit by a flying rock as they tried to stop our vehicle. One of the rocks smashed the window, came through and hit him on the elbow.

Mark Colvin: So tell us what built up to this incident?

Mark Bowling: Well there was a stand-off between pro-Jakarta militias and the pro-independence youths.

They were separated by about a hundred metres with a motorbike which had been set on light. The only thing separating them the pro-Jakarta militias opened fire, first with pipe guns, later with automatic weapons, and rather than run away the pro-independence youths ran forward with sticks and stones and tried to fight back.

So it became a very explosive situation. We understand that that whole fight between the two groups started with the burning of a house which belonged to a pro-independence supporter.

Mark Colvin: You were an eye-witness right in the middle of this, and you're telling me that the ones who were armed with guns, pipe guns, automatic weapons – they were the pro-autonomy militias. The pro-Jakarta forces. And are you saying that the pro-independence forces were not armed in that way at all?

Mark Bowling: That's correct. It was the pro-Jakarta militias who had both crude weapons made out of pipes and cobbled together pieces of wood, but also we heard ... we heard automatic firing outcoming from their direction as well. Facing off with them were the pro-independence youths who were simply – and I can say that because we were amongst them – armed with sticks and stones.

Mark Colvin: Now clearly this represents a major betrayal of the promises by the pro-autonomy militias that they had and would disarm. It also is presumably a major breach of UN regulations in that they were holding a pro-autonomy march and rally in Dili and there were armed people there. How serious an incident is this, given that we're only a few days now from the poll itself?

Mark Bowling: Well, it's extremely serious especially when the UN and other officials have been saying that Dili is calm and under control, and that the areas to worry about, the main hot-spots in East Timor, are towns along the border area between East Timor and West Timor. They have pointed out these towns as being Maliana and Sawai and so forth, but this afternoon we've seen that the calm has broken in Dili itself.

It all started with a large pro-integration, that is pro-Jakarta rally through the streets and that ended with a large gathering in a football field and after that it's obvious to say that the pro-Jakarta militiamen have taken to the streets, looked at places to burn and people to shoot at.

Mark Colvin; And the obvious question ... the other obvious question, I suppose, is where were the police?

Mark Bowling: Well, the police did arrive at the scene that we were discussing before, the stand-off between the two groups, but very very late. They came in and tried to get the pro-independence youths to move away. They were met by shouts and screams and told to get away themselves. They were unable to control that group and therefore unable to control the situation.

Mark Colvin: Mark Bowling, thank you very much indeed for that. Stay safe and look after your RA colleague.

Mark Bowling: Thank you, Mark.