Dili – East Timor's capital was under tight security Tuesday as shops shut, public transport dwindled and some people sought refuge in a church after mobs went on a weekend rampage.
Police fanned out across the capital after the gangs – thought to be drawn from nearly 600 recently dismissed soldiers – ran amok Saturday night, looting shops and battling opposing groups of soldiers in several areas.
Shop owners were seen packing their goods and leaving for other districts while more than 60 people sought refuge at a church in Comoro on the outskirts of Dili, citing fears for their safety.
"We left our homes because they threatened to harm us if we stay," one of the refugees at Santa Auxilia Dora church, who refused to give his name, told AFP.
One patrolling policeman was stabbed and seriously wounded at Comoro but the attacker fled despite police firing shots, a witness who gave his name as Anthony told AFP.
Dili was tense with many students stranded and unable to sit mid-term exams.
Two people were arrested for possessing crude weapons in a security sweep led directly by Home Affairs Minister Rogerio Lobato.
Gastao Salsinha, the leader of the 591 soldiers dismissed after they deserted claiming nepotism and poor working conditions, accused police of arresting 12 of his comrades arbitrarily.
"The PNTL (East Timor police) have arrested 12 of my colleagues even though they were not involved in the riots," Salsinha, who accused those still in the military of instigating the unrest, told AFP.
"I want to assure you that until now we still have discipline and have no intention of creating instability in the country," he added.
East Timorese police commissioner Paulo Fatima Martins said only four people had been arrested, two of whom were dismissed soldiers.
The 591 sacked soldiers, more than a third of the country's regular armed forces, are mainly former resistance fighters. About 840 regular soldiers remain in the fledgling army, plus 1,500 reservists.
Guerrilla forces fought Indonesian troops during almost 24 years of occupation of the former Portuguese colony. The country became the world's youngest nation in May 2002.