Two killed, 13 wounded in Bolivia clash

One soldier was killed and eight others wounded after a clash between security forces and villagers who had held hundreds of Bolivian and foreign tourists in a remote Andean village, the government said.

One villager was also killed and five wounded in the clash over plans to export natural gas to the US and Mexico yesterday, said congressman Felipe Quispe, a leader of the protests.

The violence occurred in the town of Warisata, 45 miles from La Paz, when the villagers “ambushed” the security forces, presidential spokesman Mauricio Antezana said.

He said soldiers and police were escorting hundreds of tourists, including some 40 foreigners, back to La Paz after they were released by the villagers, who had held them to protest government economic policies.

Europeans and Americans were among the tourists, Mr Antezana said, without providing further details.

Bolivia has been shaken in recent weeks by protests by peasants, coca leaf growers and leftist groups opposing government plans to export natural gas to the US and Mexico.

The leaders of the protest oppose mainly the possibility of the government picking a port in Chile for exporting natural gas.

Bolivia, South America’s poorest country, has been landlocked since it lost its coastline in a 1879 war against Chile, and resentment against its powerful neighbour to the west is still strong.

A final decision is due by the end of the year, but reports that technical studies recommend a Chilean port have already ignited the protests, that have included roadblocks cutting off La Paz from the rest of the country’s cities.