President Xanana Gusmao warned Monday that East Timor's ill-equipped army will be unable to cope with security problems when United Nations peacekeeping forces are due to leave the newly independent country next year.

"By the time the international contingents leave their barracks, (our) soldiers will only have walls and floors as their facilities," Gusmao said in a speech to foreign ambassadors. Gusmao said he had considered deploying soldiers to crack down on unidentified violent groups that have engaged in extortion and other crimes in parts of the country.

Three men were killed on Jan. 5 in the villages of Tiarelelo and Laubonu — located about 60 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the capital, Dili. East Timorese officials linked the violence to former pro-Jakarta militias. Indonesia has denied any involvement with the ex-militia members.

East Timor was a Portuguese colony before Indonesia took it over in 1975 and ruled it, often brutally, for 24 years. Pro-Indonesia militias ravaged East Timor when its people voted for independence in an August 1999 referendum.

Riots broke out early last month, killing two, wounding two dozen people and destroying several buildings, including the prime minister's residence.

The mayhem — just six months after independence — signaled a rough start for the world's youngest nation. The United Nations administered East Timor for two years until the country gained full independence last May, but a U.N. peacekeeping force is scheduled to remain until 2004.

About 5,000 U.N. peacekeepers from 17 nations make up the U.N. peacekeeping force.

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