East Timor Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta partly blamed Australia on Friday for the jailbreak of prisoners and rebel soldiers in Dili, saying Australian-led peacekeepers refused to increase security around the prison.
More than 50 prisoners walked out of the Becora jail on Wednesday, including rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado, renewing concerns about security in the fledgling nation.
Highlighting such worries, five people suffered gunshot wounds in a camp for internally displaced people in Dili on Friday and a sixth was wounded in a machete attack, an Australian Federal Police spokesman said.
It was not known if the violence, which has broken out sporadically in Dili since the unrest began in May, was linked to Wednesday's prison escape. Wednesday's jailbreak prompted Ramos-Horta to question why Australian forces had not provided more security at the jail.
"I am personally just puzzled why in spite of our repeated requests for static forces to be outside the prison, this was not done," Ramos-Horta told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
"Had there been strong security outside, this could have been prevented," he said.
But Australian Prime Minister John Howard rejected the suggestion and said the Australian peacekeepers in East Timor, led by Brigadier Michael Slater, had done nothing wrong, adding it was not their job to provide jail security.
"I understand that the attitude taken by Brigadier Slater has been that it's not the role of the military to provide static guards, it's the role of the military to provide patrols," Howard told reporters.
The prisoners walked out of the jail's front gate during visiting hours, security officials said. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will fly to Dili on Sunday for three-nation security talks with Ramos-Horta and East Timor President Xanana Gusmao, and Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda.
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