CANBERRA - Australian troops are beginning to get on top of gang violence in East Timor, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says.
Part of the East Timorese capital of Dili again was terrorised by the gangs yesterday, with houses torched while Australian and Malaysian troops patrolled nearby.
Mr Downer, who visited East Timor on the weekend, said he believed the Australia-led troops were making a difference.
"On the whole, I think the army have got the situation under control, but there are outbreaks of violence still and these things are being driven by gangs," he told ABC radio.
"These gangs ... are in some instances, not in all instances, reasonably well coordinated. Just nailing all that down is proving quite difficult at this stage, so there's still a way to go."
Mr Downer rejected suggestions the violence appeared to be getting worse, not better, saying it had declined substantially since the Australian-led force arrived.
An extra 35 Australian police arrived in Dili yesterday and will soon be joined by 250 police officers from Malaysia, 120 from Portugal and a new police contingent from New Zealand.
The violence began two months ago after Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri sacked 600 of the country's 1,400-strong army after they went on strike to protest what they said was discrimination against those from the west of the country.