East Timor:new prime minister Jose Ramos-Horta sworn in

He also criticized the United Nations, which administered the country for two years after its bloody break from Indonesian rule in 1999, saying the world body left before the traumatized country was on its feet.

Photo: East Timor:new prime minister Jose Ramos-Horta sworn in

Ramos-Horta replaced Mari Alkatiri, who resigned last month after failing to stop the violence that erupted in the capital when he dismissed 600 soldiers - more than 40 percent of the country's army - after they went on strike complaining of discrimination.

The decision triggered fighting between the security forces that later spilled over into gang warfare, looting and arson that left 30 people dead and sent 150,000 into tent camps.

A mob on Sunday chased a man through Dili's streets and into a hotel, badly beating him with gun barrels and sticks before staff were able to intervene, highlighting the still-fragile security situation. The circumstances of the beating were not clear.

Though Ramos-Horta has in recent weeks joined calls for the resignation of Alkatiri, who also faces allegations of forming a hit squad to kill his opponents during the unrest, the new prime minister had only kind words for his predecessor, the AP reports.

Ramos-Horta, who won the Nobel prize in 1996 for his nonviolent resistance to the Indonesian occupation during his years spent in exile, is popular among the international community and is close to President Xanana Gusmao.