A protest in a Peru oil field on Sunday ended with at least three Amazon tribesmen killed by police and 17 other demonstrators injured.

The indigenous people from Peru’s Amazon were protesting against PetroTal Corp, a Canadian energy company after they announced they will be halting operations in their Loreto location.

PetroTal usually extracts around 12,00 barrels of crude oil from a production field in Loreto, in the northeast region of Peru.

Peru’s interior ministry reported that around 70 residents equipped with spears and pellet guns arrived at the oil field demanding PetroTal halt operations but were met with police ending in a violent clash.

Authorities claimed that protestors fired on police, however, ORPIO, a local organization of indigenous communities, claimed PetroTal security guards opened fire on demonstrators.

The native’s call for help

In recent protests, the Kukama indigenous community was said to be protesting against the state for failing to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and against the oil industry due to environmental contamination.

Peruvian Hydrocarbons Society stated the recent events were led by the native community to force the state to comply with its plan to address the needs of the communities in the oil-producing Loreto region.

They went on to call for a thorough and impartial investigation “at this crucial moment in the health and economic crisis that threatens Peru.”

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