Tito Belo, Dili – East Timor Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta met with a rebel representative on Thursday to discuss an end to a military operation against a fugitive army renegade.

Lawmaker Leandro Isaac, who abandoned his job in parliament to join former army major Alfredo Reinado in a mountain hideout in Manufahi district, said he had asked Ramos-Horta to end a military operation against Reinado and his supporters.

"People's fundamental rights have disappeared since the operation began," Isaac said. "We asked the prime minister to establish calm and peace in Manufahi. Law and order should be implemented."

Ramos-Horta said on Tuesday the government would resume talks with Reinado, wanted for his alleged involvement in the violence last year which left more than 30 people dead.

Last August, Reinado escaped from a prison where he had been held on charges of murder during the unrest in May, which was triggered by the sacking of 600 rebellious soldiers.

Australian troops, dispatched to East Timor to help restore order, launched a major manhunt to apprehend Reinado after government efforts to negotiate with him failed. Five of Reinado's followers were killed during an operation to capture him last month.

Ramos-Horta said he had decided to resume talks with Reinado because the rebel did not disrupt the April 9 presidential elections.

Ramos-Horta was one of eight candidates in that vote, and will face the candidate of the Fretilin party, Francisco Guterres, in a run-off poll on May 8 after neither won an absolute majority in the first round.

Some analysts said Ramos-Horta's popularity had been hurt because of his decision to arrest Reinado, who enjoys support from many in the impoverished country.

Ramos-Horta became prime minister when his predecessor, Mari Alkatiri, quit after receiving much of the blame for last year's violence. The unrest displaced more than 150,000 people and led to the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.

Gang violence still occurs sporadically in East Timor. On Wednesday, five people were injured by gunshots and steel darts when about 50 people clashed near the capital, Dili, police said.

East Timor voted in a 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia, which annexed it after Portugal ended its colonial rule in 1975. The country became fully independent in 2002 after a period of UN administration.