Divine help wanted

Frightened Timorese packed churches to pray for peace on Sunday, but gangs allied to feuding police or army units continued to rampage through the capital, evading foreign peacekeeping troops and torching homes and vehicles.

Dear God, we need some brains around here. And jobs too, please.

"Why aren't the Australians doing anything?" said one youth, manning a barricade on the main road leading from the airport.

"It has begun to quiet things down, it's a trickier operation than some people think," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday. "Nobody should assume that it's just a simple walk-in-the-park military operation - it's quite challenging."

"This is nothing to do with the current situation," said Eduardo Villieras, a businessman. "These are just hooligans causing trouble and settling old scores.

Some want to see the Australians take a firmer hand.

"They need to crack heads to get them to stop," said Felipe Carrascalao.