EAST TIMOR:Violence broke out in several districts in East Timor yesterday, a day after the controversial appointment of a new government.
Dozens of protesters blocked roads and attacked homes and offices in several areas in the capital, Dili, and in the eastern districts of Baucau and Viqueque, police operations commander Mateus Fernandes said.
Police fired tear gas and arrested 15 people.
On Monday, President José Ramos-Horta asked a coalition led by former president Xanana Gusmao to form a government to end a stalemate after no single party won a majority in the elections more than a month ago.
Mr Ramos-Horta's decision, which means Mr Gusmao will become prime minister, immediately sparked protests by supporters of the former ruling Fretilin party, which has claimed the right to govern and branded the move unconstitutional.
"It happened at so many places around Dili, Baucau and Viqueque so we were not able to control every single area," Mr Fernandes said by telephone. He said the police had yet to determine the exact scale of damage or if there had been casualties.
Baucau and Viqueque are Fretilin strongholds. UN police said in a statement there had been more than 30 incidents involving rock throwing, tyre burning and fighting between different groups at various points in the Dili district.
At least 15 UN cars were damaged in the violence.
Fretilin leaders vowed to stop the violence. "We acknowledge that the protests came from Fretilin supporters, yet they acted without our consent," Mari Alkatiri, the party's secretary general and former prime minister, told reporters after meeting Mr Ramos-Horta and Mr Gusmao.