These tensions were caused by the overlapping roles of the two security services, differences of opinion between members of East Timor's leadership and the fact that many members of the PNTL had served with the Indonesian National Police prior to East Timor's independence while the F-FDTL was based around FALINTIL.
Ketegangan ini disebabkan oleh peran yang tumpang tindih dua layanan keamanan, perbedaan pendapat antara anggota kepemimpinan Timor Timur dan fakta bahwa banyak anggota PNTL telah disajikan dengan polisi Indonesia sebelum kemerdekaan Timor Timur sementara F-FDTL didasarkan sekitar FALINTIL.