SANTIAGO, Aug 3 (NNN-XINHUA) — Several buildings and vehicles were set on fire Wednesday in southern Chile’s La Araucania region, Minister of the Interior and Public Safety Carolina Toha said.
The attacks in Traiguen commune occurred at around 2 a.m. local time, targeting a church and a school, and leaving a paramedic with minor burns after he tried to put out a fire at a medical facility.
Authorities found a message at one of the sites alluding to the decades-long conflict between the Chilean government and the Mapuche indigenous community, the country’s largest group with 1.7 million people.
The Mapuche community demands the restitution of their ancestral lands, which are in the hands of agricultural and forestry companies given a license to exploit them.
Violence fueled by the failure to reach an agreement between the two sides has resulted in the death of several community members, police officers and farmers. — NNN-XINHUA
