Troops take city centre from protesters

A 15-year-old boy was killed as police took control of a Mexican city which has been held by protesters for five months.

Officers tore down barricades and stormed the embattled city of Oaxaca yesterday.

With helicopters clattering overhead, officers entered the city from several sides. They marched up to a final metal barrier blocking the city centre, but pulled back as protesters armed with sticks attacked them from behind, hurling burning tyres.

The air filled with black smoke and tear gas.

A 15-year-old boy manning one barricade was killed by a tear gas canister, human rights worker Jesica Sanchez said.

As night fell, however, protesters decided to abandon the centre and regroup at a local university. They pledged to continue their battle to get Governor Ulises Ruiz to resign, even as police tore down the banners and tents that had served as their headquarters for months of often violent demonstrations. Protest spokesman Roberto Garcia said 50 supporters had been arrested and police were searching houses, looking for protest leaders.

President Vicente Fox, who leaves office on December 1, had resisted repeated calls to send federal forces to Oaxaca until Saturday, a day after gunfire killed a US activist-journalist and two residents.

The protests began in May as a teacher’s strike in this colonial southern Mexican city of roughly 275,000. But the demonstrations quickly spiralled into chaos as anarchists, students and Indian groups seized the central plaza and barricaded streets throughout the city to demand the ousting of Ruiz.

Protesters accused Ruiz of rigging his 2004 election and using thugs to kill or crush political opponents. They say his resignation is not negotiable and they won’t return home without it.

The violence has driven tourists from one of Mexico’s most popular destinations, forcing hotels and restaurants to close their doors.