Apr 22, 2008, 10:36 GMT
Beijing - At least one person was killed in clashes between farmers and police in south-western China in a land dispute involving a mine, local sources said Tuesday in telephone interviews.
About a dozen people were hurt Sunday, some of them suffering life-threatening injuries, in the town of Saixi in Yunnan province's Malipo county, they said.
The dispute involves the Zijin mining company, which began excavations on the land of Saixi residents, many of whom belong to the Miao ethnic minority.
'It is not the first violent confrontation between the farmers and authorities in the past year and a half,' a bank employee said.
The Chinese Human Rights Defenders group said police opened fire on about 100 protesters, killing one farmer and injuring five others. More than 20 others were beaten and scores were detained, it added.
The government of Wenshan prefecture said police initially fired warning shots but they failed to quell the farmers, who were armed with knives and clubs. The officers then had to defend themselves and struck back at the protesters, it said.
Eleven protesters were injured, according to the government account.
A doctor working in the intensive care unit of the Wenshan prefecture hospital said two of the injured had life-threatening injuries.
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, made up of Chinese and foreign human rights advocates, said the Zijin company wants to open a tungsten mine on the site but the farmers have rejected an offer of compensation for their land as being insufficient.
The protest occurred as excavations for the mine were being carried out under the watch of guards, police and paramilitary security officers, the rights group said.
Land disputes have become common in China in recent years with residents often objecting to low compensation offered in deals negotiated between business and the government.
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