East Timor called on the United Nations Monday to extend its mandate in the country as the leader of a U.N. team arrived to assess whether the tiny nation was strong enough to go it alone.

The United Nations has been helping East Timor since its people voted for independence from Indonesian rule in 1999. On May 20, the U.N. mandate expires and most of its staff, along with hundreds of foreign peacekeepers, are scheduled to leave. "Certainly we still need a U.N. presence after May 20,'' said government spokesman Gregorio de Sousa. Last month, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta told The Associated Press that the country would need help strengthening its defense forces so the government could provide stability and security.

On Monday, the country's influential Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo said international troops were still needed. "We need a small U.N. peacekeepers platoon ... to safeguard our border from former militia,'' said Belo, who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize along with Ramos-Horta for his nonviolent resistance to the Indonesian occupation.

Pro-Jakarta militias backed by Indonesian troops devastated much of East Timor and killed more than 1,000 people after its August 1999 vote for independence. The fighters fled to the Indonesian-held western part of the island after the ballot. They were blamed for a series of violent cross border raids last year.

However, the country has been largely peaceful since gaining full independence in May 2001 following more than four centuries of Portuguese colonial rule and 27 years of often brutal Indonesian occupation.

The U.N. team will prepare a report on whether to extend the world body's mandate after May and, if so, what form it should take, said U.N. spokeswoman Marcia Poole. "They are looking across the board and will recommend to the security council,'' she said. The head of the team, Julian Harston, declined to comment to reporters as he arrived at Dili International airport on Monday.

Despite having considerable oil and gas deposits, East Timor is likely to be dependent on foreign aid for several years to come. Most of its 800,000 people live in poverty. It also has a severe shortage of civil servants, many of whom fled to Indonesia after the independence vote.

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