Manning a machine gun on top of a New Zealand army truck, Private Chas Takiwa watched a breezeblock house burn out of control, the flames sending a dark column of smoke into the sweltering tropical air.
'Not much we can do about that one,' Private Takiwa, 19, said as the four vehicle New Zealand patrol continued on its way along a lane fringed with banana palms and thatched huts on the outskirts of East Timor's capital.
Without proper firefighting equipment the 2,500 New Zealand, Australian, Portuguese and Malaysian troops sent to restore order in Dili are powerless to combat the arson attacks which continue to sow fear across the city.
A few dozen young men crowded around the New Zealanders' light trucks, but they did not know, or would not say, who was responsible for lighting the fire.
The communal hatreds and ethnic tensions, which are fuelling Dili's violence, contrast with the ecstatic welcome the international forces receive everywhere they go in this dirt-poor city.
'You are No1,' locals yelled as the troops from the Christchurch-based 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, drove through their smouldering neighbourhoods.
