DILI—East Timor's Prime Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, said on Sunday he expected a new UN mission to arrive in a month, a move aimed at shoring up security in the fledgling nation torn by violence three months ago.
The United Nations established the mission, comprising 1,608 police, on Friday despite a dispute over whether Australian-led international troops already in East Timor should remain independent or be part of a UN force.
"I think within one month the international force will arrive in Timor Leste ... All countries accept this upcoming international force because the UN has decided. So there is no single country that rejects the decision," Ramos Horta told reporters. Timor Leste is the official name for East Timor.
The new United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) will be in place for at least six months and will include up to 35 military liaison officers after the UN Security Council unanimously approved a Japanese-drafted resolution.
International troops were sent to East Timor to restore order after a wave of violence three months ago.
The violence began after then-prime minister Mari Alkatiri dismissed 600 soldiers in an army of 1,400 when they protested over suspected discrimination against soldiers from the west of the country.
Australia has about 1,500 troops and 200 police in the existing force of some 2,300, which includes contingents from Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal.
The establishment of the new force did not settle the dispute over whether those troops should be part of the U.N. operation.
A former Portuguese colony, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia in 1975. It became independent in 2002 after being run by the United Nations for two-and-half years following a referendum in August 1999 that was marred by widespread violence.
Calm has largely returned to the country after a wave of violence, arson and looting from April to June killed at least 20 people and prompted the government to invite international forces to restore order. Most of the chaos occurred in and around Dili.
But sporadic violence continues involving gangs who fight one another with stones and homemade weapons.
