MELBOURNE, May 25 (UPI) -- Australian troops arrived in East Timor Thursday aboard a C-130 Hercules and secured Dili's international airport.
Meanwhile, the frigate HMAS Adelaide entered Dili harbour as bloody clashes continued to rock the capital and its surrounding areas.
The Age newspaper said 50 commandos comprised the vanguard of Australia's emergency troop deployment to help restore order in East Timor and as many as 1,300 more soldiers were expected to arrive.
The troops were sent by Canberra following a request from the East Timor government.
Soldiers from Malaysia, Portugal and New Zealand were also expected to be dispatched to Dili.
East Timor is a former Portuguese colony annexed by Indonesia. It gained independence through U.N.-sponsored elections.
Unrest erupted last month when 600 soldiers originally from the western areas of the country protested discrimination in the army. The protests in Dili turned violent and left at least five people dead. Since then, battles between civilians of eastern and western regional origin have flared continually.
Earlier this week, some police in Dili joined the rebel soldiers.
