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 Human rights observers killed in attack in Mexico
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Two human rights activists were shot and killed in an ambush in southern Mexico as they tried to deliver food and supplies to a town being harassed by armed groups, authorities said on Wednesday.
Beatriz Carino, the Mexican director of the rights group CACTUS, and Finnish human rights observer Jyri Antero Jaakkola died when gunmen attacked a convoy of some 30 rights workers on Tuesday, local attorney general Maria de la Luz Candelaria said.
The convoy was headed to San Juan Copala in the impoverished state of Oaxaca, where tensions have been building between towns of indigenous Triqui people.
San Juan Copala is trying to set up an independent government based on native customs. But armed groups from nearby towns oppose the plan and cut off water and electricity supplies in an effort to isolate the community.
"The caravan was traveling on bad roads in the mountains. There was a barricade of rocks that forced the cars off the road. They were ambushed and shot at with automatic weapons," said David Castillo, a representative of CACTUS in Mexico City.
Two journalists from a local magazine covering the convoy were missing, said journalist Ana Lilia Perez, who works at the publication.
Oaxaca, one of the poorest states in Mexico, has a history of violent protests.
In 2006, several people were killed in clashes between police and leftist protesters after disputes between the state governor and opponents spiraled out of control.
(Reporting by Mica Rosenberg; Editing by Xavier Briand)
(2010-04-29 / Washington Post )
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