This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AAP
Aussie troops lock down flashpoints
AUSTRALIAN reinforcements were moving into the battered city of Dili today to put down a wave of gang violence and compel warring Timorese soldiers, police and renegade units to return to barracks.
The final elements of Australia's 1300-member force plus more armoured vehicles were expected to be in East Timor by early tomorrow morning  providing enough military might to enforce disengagement.
Vice chief of the defence force Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie predicted gang fighting that terrorised the city today would calm as more Australian soldiers moved out from their base at Dili's airport to exert control.
He said the Australians had so far fired no shots, although gangs might have fired over their heads today.
Troops were securing key points along roads in and out of the city, the UN compound at Obrigado Barracks in central Dili, government buildings and police headquarters.
Much of the recent violence has been blamed on civilian groups allegedly armed by the military.
General Gillespie said as troops moved into the city, they would gain a much better handle on just who was responsible for ongoing troubles.
He said he believed Australia had come up with a solution to the strife that everyone could accept.
It would be "an acknowledgement by all parties that the first thing that needs to happen is disengagement," he said.
"It means that the military returns to its barracks. It means that the police return to their barracks and it means that each of the disaffected groups who are part of this problem remove themselves to cantonments.
"Once we have got all those key players back into their areas  and we have got strong feelings from each of them that they are prepared to do that  then we can provide a military observer capacity at each location."
General Gillespie said East Timor could then start addressing its underlying political problems.
Despite the growing presence of peacekeepers, gunfire echoed across the city today with fighting between armed civilians from rival ethnic gangs.
Shops and houses were ablaze and there was looting.
Local people seeking protection gravitated to wherever Australian troops could be found.
Commander of the Australian force Brigadier Mick Slater was to meet rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado to discuss disengagement procedures.
General Gillespie said disarming of the different factions was not top priority at this stage.
"If we can get them back into areas where we can monitor who's there, what they are doing and that their weapons are in armouries ... then without disarming people we can actually break the chain of violence. Disarmament can come a little bit further down the path," he said.
Map of Dili
The Australian presence in East Timor so far has been characterised by vigorous patrolling into the capital Dili, with the main goal being to lock down the city in order to separate and concentrate the various conflicting forces in East Timor.  Despite the Australian military being provided strong rules of engagement by the East Timorese government, so far no soldiers have fired their weapons or been fired upon, although they might have been fired over by gangs earlier today.  Outside the Hotel Timor today, where East Timorese Prime Minister Alkatiri was about to hold a press conference, an Australian patrol arrested what appeared to be two gangs about to storm the hotel with the help of reinforcements.  The men numbered around 30, carrying machetes, knifes, spears, slingshots, and arrows.  The Prime Minister claimed that the gangs were attempting a coup d'etat.  Civilian gangs, allegedly provided arms by the East Timorese military, have so far been blamed for much of the violence in Dili.

As the rest of the 1300 strong Australian deployment is expected to arrive in East Timor tomorrow, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said that although his government did foresee the current situation in East Timor, military action would have constituted an invasion until mandated through the United Nations' or East Timorese government's request.  "...People say you should have seen it coming. The answer is yes, I did, but until you are asked, it happens to be an invasion." said Mr Howard.  East Timor requested military assistance from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal on May 23, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta explaining that the government "...couldn't control the situation,"; all four nations responded positively to the request.

Despite one newspaper running the headline "We'll stay till job's done, says PM", the Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston has said that he hopes the Australian military will be able to be replaced within a few months by a UN peacekeepers.  In any case, ACM Houston has said that he is believes the Australian presence will stabilise the situation soon, perhaps aided by the good relations that exist between the ADF and the leader of the rebel group, Major Alfredo Reinado.  MAJ Reinado was trained by the ADF for three months and has openly welcomed the arrival of the peacekeeping force, saying that the deployment is the "only solution" in the face of the government's inability to resolve the conflict.

After praising the speed of the deployment, Washington revealed that the US assisted the transport of Australian troops to position in Townsville and Darwin two weeks earlier.

Indonesia has now closed its border to East Timor, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saying that "besides security reasons, the closure of the border is to prevent the possibility of issues that may worsen the image of Indonesia."