Belo expressed fears his country was being made "empty" as 100,000 East Timorese -- one eighth of the population -- were reported to be fleeing the burnings, shootings and killings.
The mayhem in East Timor brought increasingly strident threats of foreign military intervention.
President Bill Clinton spoke with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has offered to send troops. Portugal, France, Australia and Britain have said they support a UN force. Australia, which is seen as leading the force, has already offered 2,000 troops.
But Indonesia's defense minister General Wiranto rejected yesterday the possibility of allowing armed peacekeepers into East Timor.
"Either Indonesia has to take care of the situation itself or allow the international community to come in," Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said during a visit to Vietnam.
"We must deal with the acute situation as soon as possible," Finnish foreign minister Tarja Halonen said yesterday. "Any delay by the United Nations on taking a decision [to send troops] could result in the loss of more lives."
Finland currently holds the EU presidency.
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