United Nations civilian police in East Timor say they have made their first arrest in relation to mass murder in the territory in connection with last year's vote for independence from Indonesia.

A spokesman for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor Refic Hodzic is quoted as saying that the suspect was a member of a pro-Indonesian militia Besi Merah Putih and was being held jail in the capital, Dili, following his arrest at his home in Liquica earlier this week.

The spokesman said the arrest related to murders committed in April.

Correspondents say that more than fifty people were murdered in early April in a massacre at a church in Liquica.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service