Gangs of young men hurled rocks at a camp housing refugees and torched buildings in East Timor's capital yesterday, as fresh violence erupted between supporters and opponents of recently ousted prime minister Mari Alkatiri.
Australian peacekeepers forced 100 youths away from the camp, which houses hundreds of people who fled clashes last month. The attackers claimed armed supporters of the outgoing leader were hiding inside.
Sporadic gun shots were heard and 20 houses and a half dozen shops were torched elsewhere, sending black clouds of smoke rising over the city.
Alkatiri appeared on national television on Tuesday -- one day after he resigned under pressure from street protesters and President Xanana Gusmao -- urging 2,000 supporters who gathered on Dili's outskirts to descend on the city in coming days.
The former leader, who has been summoned for questioning on allegations he formed political hit squads, accused his opponents of being behind two months of unrest that has left at least 30 people dead and sent nearly 150,000 people fleeing their homes.
"They destroyed Dili town, burned, looted and killed our people, and then they accuse me of being a terrorist, communist and a killer," he said in his first public comments since stepping down.
Though Alkatiri said he stepped down willingly to help restore order, TV footage of his remarks rallied supporters and angered opponents, who threw rocks at the national TV station and burned down several homes of leaders of his ruling Fretilin party.
There were no reports of fatalities or serious injuries in the violence, the worst to hit the tiny nation in several weeks.
Members of a 2,700 foreign peacekeeping mission responded quickly to flare-ups yesterday, with Australian and Portuguese police rushing to the scene of blazes and clashes. Helicopters patrolled overhead as sirens blared.
Many of the street fighters identified themselves as either coming from the east of the country, Alkatiri's power base, or the west, where people are seen as supporters of Gusmao.
Some young men were also taking advantage of the chaos to settle old scores or express anger with the leaders of East Timor.
Alkatiri was summoned by Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro to address allegations of hiring hit squads to silence his opponents, though it was not clear if he would appear in person tomorrow or provide written answers to questions.
Alkatiri denies the accusations, but one of his close allies, the former interior minister, is facing charges of allegedly arming civilian militias at his request.
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