Sydney – Pro-Jakarta militia are harassing East Timorese refugees throughout the eastern islands of Indonesia, an Australian aid agency said Thursday.

Janet Hunt, executive director of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA), said the situation was dangerous in Flores, Lombok and Bali – a popular holiday spot.

"There are militias in those places," she told reporters. "They have [death] lists and they are seeking these people [refugees]. The people who are in hiding are on the move, mainly. They are not staying in the same house or hotel two nights."

Hunt urged the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to open an office in Bali. "We are asking the UNHCR to establish an office in Bali so that those who have already left Kupang [in West Timor] can have access to help," she said.

She claimed the militia had lists of particular people that they wanted to see dead. "They are also targeting some of the religious people, some of the brothers, sisters and priests, who have come out with the Timorese," she said. "It is getting increasingly difficult." ACFOA is an umbrella group of Australian aid agencies.