DILI (AFP) -- Thousands of residents in the East Timorese capital Dili fled the city Friday amid rumors of impending clashes between the military and police, witnesses said.

Roads were filled with cars, trucks and motorbikes packed with household valuables such as refrigerators, televisions, beds and sofas, as people tried to escape despite repeated government calls for calm.

Most of the residents, who began leaving en masse on Thursday, were fleeing to their villages in Viveque, Bacau and Lospalos in eastern Timor.

"I am forced to go to Ossu (in Viveque) because of this conflict between F-FDTL (the East Timorese military) and the police. It seems there is a desire for revenge," one resident, who refused to give his name, told AFP.

"I don't necessarily believe these rumours are true, but I see lots of people leaving, so I have decided to return to my district," he added.

Police and military were deployed to restore calm in Dili after 600 sacked soldiers and their apparent supporters held a protest last week which turned violent.

At least four people were killed and around 100 houses and a market damaged. The soldiers had deserted their barracks complaining of discrimination in February and were later sacked.

Unconfirmed reports that dozens more soldiers had left their barracks and fled to the hills with guns were fuelling rumours of a clash between the military and police, said an AFP reporter.

On Thursday the government ordered that troops patrolling the city hand over to police in a bid to calm tensions but rumours were persisting.

At least 4,000 people who had been taking refuge at the Dom Bosco seminary have fled and 500 people were seen at Dili's port waiting to catch a boat to Oecussi, the East Timorese enclave in western Timor.

Last Friday's violence was the worst unrest to hit Asia's poorest nation since 1999, when Indonesian-backed militias killed some 1,400 people before and after the breakaway from Jakarta, which ruled East Timor for 24 years.

The government formed a committee this week aimed at investigating the soldiers' grievances.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday raised the possibility of sending troops back to East Timor to help the country's beleaguered government deal with the resurgence of civil unrest.

"We would certainly consider it," Howard said in a radio interview.

"We do have an ongoing interest and therefore responsibility," he said.