About 100 riot officers watched as university and senior high-school students forced their way into the parliament, demanding the complete withdrawal of the Indonesian military.

According to unconfirmed reports, dozens of civilians were killed when Indonesian troops clashed with rebels fighting for independence in the East Timorese district of Alas, 200 km (125 miles) south of the capital, Dili.

Bishop joins in calls

Bishop Belo gives his support

East Timor's spiritual leader, Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo, said he had heard that between 30-40 were killed.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner joined the students in calling for the soldiers to withdraw.

A former East Timor governor, Mario Carascalao, was quoted by the Portuguese news agency Lusa as saying on Sunday that 44 people had been killed and 40 others injured.

But the Indonesian military and the foreign ministry deny the reports. "It is not true that 44 people died," said foreign ministry spokesman Gafar Fadyl.

"We have checked our data. We found out that names and other details are inaccurate," he said.

Raid on rebels

The killings are alleged to have taken place during a raid aimed at the Fretilin separatist movement, which attacked the military headquarters in Alas earlier this month.

Three East Timorese soldiers fighting for Indonesia and one rebel soldier died in the fighting.

Reports of a further civilian massacre could not be confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has offices in East Timor.

But a spokesman said that about 150 people had fled their houses and taken refuge in a local church and school in Alas when the military moved in.

An ICRC official is travelling back to the area to check reports of further deaths.

Australia: taking reports seriously

The Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said his government was treating the reports seriously.

Mr Downer said there had been serious tensions in the village for the past two weeks, and the federal government is monitoring the situation.

"What we can best do is what I was doing with the Indonesian foreign minister last week, and that is to continue to encourage the development of a dialogue," he said.

On Friday the reports prompted Portugal, East Timor's former colonial ruler, to suspend UN-brokered talks with Jakarta, which aim to find a solution to the problem.