Perilous
Times
11 dead as Hondurans clash over land
* From: AAP
* August 16, 2011 5:35PM
VIOLENT clashes over farmland in Honduras have left 11 people
dead, authorities say, as tensions mounts between peasants and
landowners in the Central American nation.
Five traders were shot dead yesterday as they drove along a road
in the troubled northeast Aguan region, and deputy police chief
Roberto Benitez said the victims may have been killed by people
who mistook them for rivals in a conflict which has left some 50
people dead in recent months.
It was not clear whether the gunmen were peasants or guards of
landowners, he told reporters.
The two groups have been locked in a land dispute for several
years and on Sunday a violent clash left four security guards and
two peasants dead and 14 injured.
About 200 peasants, some heavily armed, tried to take over the
Paso Aguan ranch, and police said two peasants and four guards
were killed in the incident.
Peasant organisations have occupied seven palm plantations in the
Aguan Valley in Colon state, which has some of the most productive
land in Honduras.
While President Porfirio Lobo's government has agreed to provide
interest-free loans for peasants to buy land, the parties involved
been unable to settle on purchase prices.
Lobo sent a taskforce of some 600 police and soldiers to the area
late on Monday in an effort to restore order.