The United Nations has announced it will arm its civilian police in East Timor starting from today Thursday.

A spokesman for the United Nations said members of the multinational police force would be issued with guns, after officers raised concerns about their safety.

There's been recent violent unrest in the capital, Dili, and other cities.

The spokesman said he hoped that the guns would serve as a deterrent. On Wednesday, Portuguese troops arrived to take part in the peacekeeping mission; they're the first Portuguese soldiers in East Timor since Portugal abandoned its former colony twenty six years ago.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service