Police clashed with a group of Mapuche during an operation to clear lands seized by members of the indigenous community, and one young Mapuche was killed and two were injured, Argentina's government said.
The Security Ministry said in a statement that the incident happened Saturday and stemmed from a police operation that began Thursday in southern Argentina to evict Mapuche activists from properties they had taken over.
It said the clash came after some Mapuche fled into the mountains following their eviction from national park land near the Patagonia city of Bariloche.
The statement said four police officers searching in the area were attacked by 15 to 20 hooded people armed with spears, guns and stones. It said the officers fired some shots into the trees.
Later, two Mapuche came down from the hill carrying a man who had been wounded but died on the way down, the statement said.
The Mapuche community of Lof Lafken Winkul Mapu said a 22-year-old Mapuche had been killed. They identified him as Rafael Nahuel. A hospital said he died of a gunshot wound.
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