Brazil sacks head of indigenous agency amid land conflicts
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On Sunday, more than a dozen members of an indigenous tribe were injured in the northeast of the country in the latest flare-up of violence over land.
Police said they were investigating the incident in Maranhao State where members of the Gamela tribe were attacked by farmers with guns, clubs and knives, according to campaign groups.
The Indigenous Missionary Council, a monitoring group linked to the Catholic Church, said the victims were leaving land recently reclaimed from cattle ranchers when they were set on.
Last year, 61 land rights campaigners were killed in Brazil, the highest level of violence since 2003, according to the Pastoral Land Commission, an advocacy group linked to the Catholic Church.
About 13 percent of Brazil’s land has been set aside for the country’s indigenous people based on the territories they historically occupied.
Indigenous groups say the sacking comes at a time when their rights are being rolled back.
