PhotoBlog - yanomami

Sep

2012

12:13am, EDT

Images show peaceful scenes from settlement where indigenous groups, Venezuela dispute whether Amazon massacre took place

Ariana Cubillos / AP

An aerial view of a village called Irotatheri is seen as Yanomami Indians stand in the main courtyard in Venezuela's Amazon region, Friday, Sept. 7. A Venezuelan army spokesman, who traveled to with other military officers and journalists, said that officials found no sign of any killings and that all was peaceful in the area, which is located 12 miles from the border with Brazil, despite a report of a mass killing there.

After reports of a massacre of in a tribal village in the Amazon, military officials and journalists traveled to the remote region this week. Photos received on Sept. 8 show peaceful scenes of village life.

"We can tell the country that we have seen no evidence of death," said Nicia Maldonado, Venezuela's minister of government affairs, in televised comments.

Native rights groups and some local politicians criticized the government, saying it reached that conclusion prematurely.

The remoteness of the region - and the nomadic habits of the Yanomami tribe - make it unlikely officials could have reached the exact spot where the attack was reported to have taken place, they said. Even natives, they point out, take days to move among settlements in the region.

-- Reported by Reuters

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