Others said it could be related to the Indonesian military's recent efforts to rein in the militia groups as well as the Indonesian government's recent promise to close the refugee camps, which the militias have been using as a base, within six months. Yet others speculated that the fighters have spent the past year regrouping and now are ready to launch another round of revenge attacks on independence supporters. Military officials and Western diplomats said some militiamen are decommissioned Indonesian soldiers who still are wearing uniforms and carrying automatic rifles. Others are civilians whom the Indonesian military has trained and armed, the officials and diplomats said. Although Indonesian military leaders have said they are committed to cracking down on the militias, thus far they have failed to disband the groups.
Indonesian officials maintain that they are undermanned and ill-equipped for the task.
Some Western diplomats contended that the Indonesian military is not just failing to corral the militias, but actively supporting them with weapons, food, uniforms and training. Western diplomats said the militias have received new weapons and training in the past year from current and former military officers, some of whom likely are members of Indonesia's special forces. U.N. officials insisted that the 7,800 peacekeepers in East Timor are enough to handle the militia threat, although some military officials privately expressed frustration about their inability to move units from the relatively tranquil eastern part of the territory to the more volatile western region because of agreements between the United Nations and countries supplying troops that limit where certain soldiers can be deployed. Some peacekeepers also questioned the U.N. rules of engagement in East Timor. Although the rules are among the most aggressive for any peacekeeping mission, allowing soldiers to shoot for reasons other than self-defense, military officials have ordered peacekeepers to fire only if they are directly threatened.