Tim Dodd, Jakarta – Three East Timorese men killed in an armed raid on their villages on Saturday night were former independence activists. Senior East Timorese officials believe that the attackers were once linked to the pro-Indonesian militia.

Yesterday, the chief of staff to East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao, Ajio Pereira, said it "appeared that the attack was by individuals connected to militia groups and pro-Indonesia groups".

Mr Pereira, who visited the two villages, Tiarelelo and Laubono, with Mr Gusmao and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, said the three men killed were former local leaders of the now disbanded independence group CNRT which led East Timor's push for freedom from Indonesia in 1999.

Separately, a spokeswoman for East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said yesterday that eyewitnesses to the attack said they recognised five of the gunmen as former militia members.

Five villagers were also injured in the attack by men armed with guns. Mr Pereira said villagers put the number of attackers at anywhere between 10 and 40. "The population was clearly distressed," he said.

If former militia members did carry out the raid, it would be the first serious incident attributable to militia groups in East Timor for nearly three years since the Australian-led United Nations peacekeeping force restored security after the independence vote in 1999.

However, rather than indicating any new infiltration by Indonesian-based militia from West Timor, the attacks on Saturday night may be further proof of growing home-based security problems in East Timor, where many former militia members have reintegrated into their communities.

In a riot last month, several buildings were razed in the capital, Dili, including Mr Alkatiri's house. Mr Ramos Horta blamed the riot on pro-Indonesian militia, although the evidence is not clear.

Even the continuing presence of the UN peacekeeping force and UN police is not enough to ensure security in the fledgling country.