East Timor's government ended a day of crisis talks today as foreign troops tightened their grip on the capital after a weekend of violence by gangs allied to feuding factions of the country's armed forces.
East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri faced protesters calling for his resignation
The cabinet of the world's newest state, which last week appealed for international peacekeepers to quell a rebellion by almost half its army, met for most of the day amid talk of major differences between the president and prime minister.
Officials said no decision was taken on how to end the violence, and the country's leaders would meet again tomorrow.
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri sacked around 600 of the 1,400-strong army in April after they protested publicly over alleged discrimination against soldiers from the east, triggering the mayhem.
A few dozen protesters brandished banners reading "Down with Alkatiri" outside President Xanana Gusmao's office where ministers met in the capital, Dili.
At one stage the president left the talks to urge a cheering crowd to stop fighting and return to their homes. "We are all Timorese," Mr Gusmao said. "Stop this fighting that is dividing us."
Timorese special forces, in the first display of armed state authority in over a week, kept guard outside along with a handful of Australian soldiers. Small numbers of Timorese police and soldiers also helped Australian troops man city checkpoints.
The troops were searching for weapons and while they confiscated some machetes and axes, they did not detain anyone.
Sources close to the government say Mr Gusmao is pushing for the country's army and police force to be disarmed and returned to barracks. Foreign troops would then take control until a full investigation into the rebellion has been completed. He wants dismissed soldiers to be reinstated while their grievances are looked into, sources say.
Mr Alkatiri, who is reported to have opposed foreign intervention in the country of one million or to have pushed for a more limited mission, wants the rebels disarmed but the rest of the security forces to resume work as soon as possible.
With almost the entire 2,500-strong contingent of peacekeepers from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal now on the ground, residents were simply hoping for a sense of security so that they could return to their homes.
The Red Cross says more than 40,000 have been displaced by the fighting, and food and fuel supplies are running out.
The past three days have seen Dili's ramshackle suburbs turn into a battleground for gangs of youths loosely allied to factions of the police or army, who embarked on an arson and looting spree that continued until last night.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard described the violence of the past few days as worse than that which followed East Timor's 1999 vote for independence from Indonesia.
East Timor is one of the world's poorest nations and suffers from massive unemployment. Dozens of gangs have emerged and routinely fight turf wars regardless of the political situation.
Apart from some coffee production, East Timor has virtually no economy but has signed lucrative oil and gas exploration deals for resources in the Timor Sea.