Indigenous protest in Paraguay's capital erupts in violence

The police command said one officer was hit by an arrow shot by archers from an ethnic group not yet identified

Indigenous groups demonstrated in Paraguay's capital on September 29 against a law that makes it a crime to invade private property, and the protest escalated into violence that authorities said saw seven police officers injured, four cars set on fire and other acts of vandalism.

The police command said one officer was hit by an arrow shot by archers from an ethnic group not yet identified. Television coverage showed the commander of a police station about 300 meters (yards) from the Congress building lying on the ground and being hit by demonstrators with stones and sticks. Prosecutors said those protesters could not be identified as Indigenous.

The unrest began when the 80-member Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the land invasion law that would increase the penalty to six years in prison from four for those who illegally occupy private property.