Thu May 29, 2003 07:51 PM ET
QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) - At least 22 Indians were killed in Ecuador's Amazon jungle in a clash with a neighboring Indian community, officials said on Thursday.
Tagaeri Indians living in the jungle, about 94 miles southeast of Quito, were killed on Tuesday by members of another Indian group, apparently in a revenge attack, after a member of their group was slain in an attempted raid on Tagaeri lands, an indigenous leader said.
The Tagaeri live in isolation in a protected area where logging and oil activity is prohibited, and an indigenous group said the dispute dated back to tensions over pressure from loggers to be allowed into the area.
The small group of Tagaeri Indians is part of the broader Huaorani ethnic group but has clashed with fellow members who have entered their territory.
"This is a case of vengeance among clans," Tony Munoz, advisor to the Organization of Huaorani peoples in Ecuador's Amazon, told Reuters by telephone.
The Organization said the conflict goes back to pressure from loggers for access to the area. It said in a statement that loggers had tipped some Huaorani off to the Tagaeri Indians' presence so they could exact revenge.
Munoz said 22 people were killed, while police reported 30 Tagaeri died in a "massacre of large proportions." It was difficult to determine the number of victims since the area is remote and Tagaeri do not speak Spanish.
Munoz asked reporters and tourists to keep out of the area to avoid stoking further tensions with the Tagaeri, whose 250 members walk naked through the jungle and in the past have killed outsiders who were trying to contact their community.
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Breaking News
Posted on Thu, May. 29, 2003
Ecuador Indian Leaders Probe Deadly Clash
Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador - Indian leaders are checking into reports of a bloody clash
between two tribes deep in Ecuador's Amazon jungle that left as many as 30 dead,
an Indian official said Thursday.
Camilo Huamoni, vice president of the Huaorani Nation of Amazonian Ecuador, told The Associated Press of reports that a renegade group of Huaorani killed 30 members of the Tagaeri tribe on Monday. He said the attackers used shotguns and wooden lances.
Huamoni said other Huaorani had alerted him of the attack. However, neither the attack nor the number of deaths could be independently confirmed.
A spokesman from Ecuador's Confederation of Indigenous Amazonian Nations told The AP that he had heard rumors of the alleged massacre.
The clash occurred in Tiguino, 125 miles southeast of Quito and a five-day hike from the nearest road, Huamoni said.
Huamoni said an Indian leader along with a group of Ecuadorean soldiers set out to the site on Thursday.
The Tagaeri live in near-total isolation from modern society, while the Huaorani have much more contact.
Ecuador: 30 Indians Die in Inter-Tribal Clash
VOA News
30 May 2003, 11:54 UTC
Officials in Ecuador say as many as 30 Indians have been killed in an inter-tribal
clash in a remote area of the Amazon jungle.
Ecuadorian police said Thursday that members of the Tagaeri tribe were killed earlier this week after a clash with members of the neighboring Huaorani tribe.
The exact number of victims and the cause of the clash could not be confirmed. News reports said the violence may be related to logging interests.
Tribal leaders asked government officials and journalists to stay out of the area, where the violence occurred, to avoid stoking further tensions.
The Tagaeris live in isolation in a remote part of the Amazon and have little tolerance for outsiders making contact with their community.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
Massacre by remote tribe in Amazon leaves 30 dead, reports say
AP News
2 June 2003
QUITO -- Indian leaders are checking into reports of a bloody clash between
two tribes deep in Ecuador's Amazon jungle that left as many as 30 dead, an
Indian official said Thursday.
Camilo Huamoni, vice president of the Huaorani Nation of Amazonian Ecuador,
told The Associated Press of reports that a renegade group of Huaorani killed
30 members of the Tagaeri tribe on Monday. He said the attackers used shotguns
and wooden lances.
Huamoni said other Huaorani had alerted him of the attack. However, neither
the attack nor the number of deaths could be independently confirmed.
Copyright © AP