Those initiating the violence and killings declared loyalty to the then president Xanana Gusmao, who wanted to replace prime minister and Fretilin leader Mari Alkatiri.

[5] On the evening of 5 May, the former soldiers under Salsinha's leadership drafted a declaration calling for President Xanana Gusmão to sack the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and abolish the FDTL within 48 hours.

[11] On 9 May, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri described the violence since 28 April as a coup, with "the aim of blocking the democratic institutions, preventing them to function in a way that the only solution would be for national parliament to be dissolved by the President... which would provoke the fall of the Government.

[16] Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta sent out an official request for military assistance on 24 May, to the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal.

[17] That day, FDTL soldiers acting in disobedience of a ceasefire and safe passage assurance by the Chief of the Armed Forces, General Taur Matan Ruak, massacred 8 to 10 unarmed police officers and wounded 27 others.

On the afternoon of 25 May, four Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 Hercules transport plane landed at Dili airport with the first wave of Australian forces.

[26] Earlier, Timor-Leste President Xanana Gusmão had requested Malaysia guard the Timor-Leste-Indonesia border to prevent civilians from fleeing the country.

The President of the Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, as well as Prime Minister José Sócrates, called for an end to the violence.

[33] The chief executive of World Vision Australia, Reverend Tim Costello, announced on 27 May that he would travel to Dili to assess the situation, to help displaced civilians.

On 27 May, gangs from different parts of the country fought in the streets of Dili, destroying cars and houses and fighting with knives, machetes and slingshots leaving at least three East Timorese hacked to death.

"[37] Also on 29 May, Australian Prime Minister John Howard rejected criticisms that Australian troops had not secured Dili quickly enough, saying that the crisis was possibly more dangerous than the violence following independence from Indonesia in 1999, and that "We cannot have a situation around the world and particularly in our region where Australia is told to respect the independence of a country and that it's a bully boy if it seeks to express a view or to intervene, but when something goes wrong Australia is then criticised for not having, quote, intervened earlier.

"[38] Throughout 29 and 30 May, President Xanana Gusmão held crisis talks with the Council of State, an advisory body composed of community leaders.

[39] The Council, which has the ability to authorise the President to dismiss the National Parliament, was the first meeting between Gusmão and Prime Minister Alkatiri since the escalation of violence in the previous week.

[43][44] On 1 June, Gusmão visited a refugee camp near the United Nations headquarters, telling people "The best thing you can do is go back to your homes", and urging them not to take security matters into their own hands.

[49] Meanwhile, also on 2 June, the commander of the Australian forces Brigadier Slater met with rebel leader Major Reinado, at his base in Aileu above Dili.

On 5 June, rival gangs, with over a hundred members each, clashed in the streets armed with spears, machetes and slingshots, before being separated by Australian troops.

[52] On 6 June, a convoy of anti-Alkatiri protestors from the west of the country drove to Dili, through the western suburb of Comoro and to the National Parliament and government buildings in the heart of the city.

[53] In a deal brokered by Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta to ensure a peaceful protest, the convoy consisting of up to 2,500 people gathered in Tibar outside the Malaysian checkpoint to the west of the airport, where they surrendered any weapons before proceeding through Dili.

The group consisted of about thirty civilians, and were allegedly armed with "18 assault rifles, 6,000 round sic of ammunition, two vehicles and uniforms.

[61] On 9 June, Lieutenant Gastão Salsinha, the original leader of the rebel soldiers, reiterated the claims of Commander Railos, saying that Lobato had distributed 200 rifles stolen from the police armoury to civilians.

By 16 June, rebel soldiers were ready to hand in their weapons, in exchange for protection from the international military forces, following more than a week of negotiations.

Brigadier Slater expressed doubts that all weapons would be handed in, but said that the presence of international forces around the rebel bases "will enable them to confidently enter into negotiations with the president and other members of the government.

[66] On 20 June, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 1690, extending UNOTIL's mandate until 20 August and expressing support for the existing international peacekeeping effort.

Australia was allowed to retain command over the joint military task force, although the UN Secretary-General and Security Council will revisit this question by 25 October.

The reports indicated that a plan had been developed which would see Alkatiri remain officially as prime minister for another month, but that two deputies would be appointed, who would have in fact governed in his place.

In response, Foreign and Defence Minister José Ramos-Horta resigned from office "because the government is not functioning properly", according to his spokesperson.

"[72] There, Alkatiri announced his resignation, saying: Having deeply reflected on the present situation prevailing in the country, considering that above all interests are the interests of our nation, assuming my own share of responsibility for the crisis affecting our country, determined not to contribute to any deepening of the crisis, recognising that the people of Timor deserve to live in peace and tranquillity, believing that all militants and sympathisers of Fretilin will understand and support this position, I declare I am ready to resign from my position of Prime Minister of the government of RDTL, so as to avoid the resignation of His Excellency, the President of the Republic.After the announcement, mobs in the streets of Dili began to celebrate rather than protest.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he was pleased with the resignation, insofar as it was "part of the process of working out the difficulty, resolving the impasse".

"[76] By August 2006, troops had withdrawn from some points of the country and the rebels' leader, Alfredo Reinado, was able to escape from Becora Prison, in Dili.

On 2 October 2006, the United Nations Independent Special Commission of Inquiry made a number of recommendations including that several individuals be prosecuted.