Two loggers in Peru's Amazon have been killed and two others are missing after a clash with an indigenous community.
The clash occurred in an area of the Madre de Dios region when workers who were opening a trail in the forest, were attacked by members of the Mashco Piro tribe.
The attack took place using arrows according to Daniel Pena, a spokesperson of FENAMAD, an organization that represents more than 30 communities in the region and has previously lobbied the government to protect the Maschco Piro's forest.
The Ministry of Culture reported the incident and said it was investigating the case along with the prosecutor's office and police.
Indigenous people of the Mascho Piro tribe at riverbank
Reuters
In a statement, the ministry said the clash "may have caused deaths, injuries and disappearances" on behalf of a logging company.
FENAMAD said in a statement on Monday that the confrontation occurred in an area near the Pariamanu River, which is part of the Mashco Piro territory.
They said at least two workers were killed by arrows, another was injured and two are missing. Members of the Mashco Piro have been seen outside their territory in recent months, according to images released by the NGO Survival International, which said the community is under massive pressure from the logging industry.
According to the Ministry of Culture, at least four people, including workers and residents of the area, have died between 2015 and 2022 in clashes with the Mascho Piro,
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AIDESEP spokesperson Julio Cusurichi
Reuters
A member of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), which represents indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon, said the license to logging companies should be removed as isolated indigenous tribes are highly vulnerable.
AIDESEP spokesperson Julio Cusurichi said: "On August 29, there was a sighting of the isolated indigenous people in the San Juan area, in Madre de Dios.
"There, there was a clash with lumberers, who were working on extracting timber in a chestnut concession. We were reported there were two dead and injured people but also a person who got to escape the area.
"The indigenous brothers who are isolated are highly vulnerable. For this reason, there should be a final exclusion of the license granted to this timber company because they are working in isolated Indigenous people’s lands."
The Mascho Piru tribe
Reuters
The Mascho Piru are fleeing their shelters to escape from loggers who have forestry concessions granted by the authorities, according to indigenous organizations in Peru.
According to the FSC and Peru's Forest and Wildlife Resources Supervisory Agency, the Canales Tahuamanu logging company has concessions on almost 53,000 hectares of forest in Madre de Dios where it extracts cedar and mahogany.
Cusurichi said "This is an important step, but not the final one. We will continue fighting with the same strength until we achieve a historic victory in favour of the rights of the people."
