Dili – East Timor's former interior minister will go on trial Thursday on allegations of arming a political hit squad with state weapons as the tiny nation descended into violence earlier this year, court officials and lawyers said.

Rogerio Lobato earlier claimed he was acting on the orders of then-Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who resigned in June after street battles in the capital killed 37 people and sent more than 155,000 others fleeing their homes.

Lobato could face a maximum 47-year prison sentence if convicted of distributing firearms to civilians and treason, said Attorney General Longuinhos Monteiro.

The preliminary hearing is due to be held in the East Timor High Court, near the headquarters of Australian peacekeepers instead of the Dili District Court for security reasons, said court official George Barbosa da Silva.

Vincente "Railos" da Concecao, the self-proclaimed leader of the hit squad, told The Associated Press he would attend as a witness. East Timor has been plagued by instability since rival security forces clashed in the capital Dili in April and May after Alkatiri's government dismissed 600 soldiers, more than a third of the armed forces.

Calm largely returned with the arrival of more than 2,500 foreign peacekeepers and the installation of a new government, but there have been isolated cases of gang warfare, looting and arson attacks in recent months.

Alkatiri has been questioned several times about the hit squad allegations – charges he vehemently denies.

It is unclear if he will run in general elections scheduled for May 7.