JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesia's military threatened to shoot rioters, and dozens of houses burned Saturday as clashes between Christians and Muslims continued for a fifth day in eastern Indonesia.

Police said at least 47 people have been killed since the violence flared on Tuesday. The death toll was expected to rise as searchers looked for more victims in the ashes of dozens of burned-out buildings.

"I dare not go out of the house because I can hear gunshots," said one resident, who identified herself only as Ina.

Eastern Indonesia's military commander, Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring, warned rioters to stop fighting.

"We urge them to keep their arms at home. Should they continue to disobey, we will order our troops to fire," the privately owned SCTV network quoted Sembiring as saying.

City streets empty on Ambon

As dawn broke Saturday on the worst-hit island of Ambon, the city streets were empty except for patrolling troops. Thousands had taken shelter at military bases and others were barricaded in their homes.

A curfew was imposed to prevent further fighting between rival Christian and Muslim gangs on Ambon, Sanana and Seram islands, known in Dutch colonial times as the Spice Islands.

The islands in eastern Maluku province are the latest site of rioting that has plagued crisis-ridden Indonesia in the past year.

Wary residents in the provincial capital of Ambon city guarded their homes Friday night with knives and swords amid reports that gangs of armed men were roaming the streets.

Police said 20,600 villagers who fled the unrest had taken shelter in army bases and police stations, where officers gave out food and medicine.

Col. Karyono S., the provincial police chief, said 19 bodies were found Friday in the village of Batubulang on the outskirts of Ambon city.

Most of the 45 dead were Muslim.

"The toll is expected to rise as we believe that a number of bodies are still trapped in the ruins of buildings," the official Antara news agency quoted Karyono as saying.

Antara said 37 had been killed in Ambon city, six in Batubulang and two on Sanana island. Hundreds had been injured.

Many victims were stabbed, beaten or trapped in fires. Some were attacked with rocks, machetes, clubs and even bows and arrows.

Seven mosques, nine churches and 189 houses were burned in the violence that started Tuesday, he said.

The Ambon airport remains closed to commercial flights.

But the military reported the situation was under control Saturday, with an extra 2,500 soldiers and police patrolling the city of Ambon and surrounding areas.

B.J. Habibie

On Friday, 40 non-Indonesians, mostly American and British missionaries, were evacuated to Australia from Ambon, 2,300 km (1,440 miles) east of Jakarta.

Armed forces commander General Wiranto and police chief Lieutenant-General Roesmanhadi flew to Ambon on Friday to meet local leaders and bring food supplies.

Wiranto blamed "provocateurs" for the unrest and vowed to track down the troublemakers.

"Find, arrest and bring those provocateurs to the court since they have threatened national unity," the official Antara news agency quoted him as saying.

President B.J. Habibie called for calm and religious reconciliation.

While Indonesia's population of 209 million is predominantly Muslim, Ambon and many of the other spice islands in the east of the huge archipelago are mostly Christian.

The Ambon clashes were the worst single outbreak of violence since rioting in Jakarta in May killed about 1,200 people and helped force President Suharto from power.

Indonesia has been rocked by waves of ethnic, religious and political violence for most of the past year as the country grapples with its worst economic and social crisis in three decades.

Riots have also struck central Java, central Sulawesi, west and Kalimantan recently, with several people killed and scores of buildings wrecked or damaged.

About 150 street stalls, many owned by well-known artists and movie stars, were damaged in Jakarta on Friday when security guards employed to protect the stalls went on a rampage after they were not given their annual bonus.

And in the restive northern province of Aceh, 23 prisoners escaped from a jail in Lhokseumawe during Muslim prayers on Friday. Seven were later recaptured.

During his 32-year authoritarian rule Suharto used the might of the military to quell communal violence and political dissent.

But since his departure the position of the military has weakened amid accusations that it committed widespread human rights abuses during Suharto's era.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.