The United Nations hopes the violence in East Timor will be quelled quickly following the arrival foreign troops, a peacekeeping chief said on Thursday.

Jean-Marie Guehenno, the U.N. undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, said Australian troops, who arrived on Thursday at the request of the East Timorese government, had the priority of stabilizing the situation.

The national police force appeared to be disintegrating and was in "total disarray" due to growing tension between the country's east and west, Guehenno said.

Australia already has around 220 soldiers on the ground, with the remaining 1,300 troops arriving during the next 24 to 48 hours, Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson as quoted as saying.

New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia are also due to send troops or military help to the tiny Pacific territory.

Violence erupted after the East Timorese government decided to sack almost half the country's military, who protested against poor conditions and staged a strike.

The situation deteriorated on Thursday when at least nine people were killed and 27 wounded.

East Timor, which shares a land border with Indonesia's West Timor, is a former Portuguese colony. The country ended 25-year Indonesian rule and became the world's newest nation in May 2002.

Editor: Yan