Rubber bullets fired at crowds in East Timor

Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds setting government buildings on fire after independence hero Xanana Gusmao was named as East Timor’s new prime minister, police and witnesses said.

Despite hopes the appointment would end months of political tension, the country’s largest party slammed the decision as illegal.

Youths in the central city of Baucau went on a rampage today, said local police inspector Pedro Belo.

Witnesses said at least three buildings were on fire.

The United Nations described the violence as “sporadic and isolated” and said international police and army officers deployed in the country were in control of the situation.

East Timor broke free from decades of Indonesian rule in 1999 in a UN-sponsored referendum.

Three years later it became Asia’s newest country, but the euphoria quickly evaporated amid the challenges of governing a divided and poverty-stricken nation.