On June 24, gunmen have attacked and set ablaze a Guarani Indian community village in south west Brazil. According to Survival, reports a one year old baby had burned to death when the gunmen torched the Indians’ houses, but this has not subsequently been confirmed. The Guarani fled the area, and two girls and one boy are reported to be missing. The Indians of Kurusu Mba community peacefully re-occupied part of their ancestral land on June 22, having waited many years for it to be returned to them. They were soon surrounded by gunmen who, according to one Guarani man, “fired shots above our heads.” The ranchers and farmers who now occupy almost all Guarani land frequently employ armed men to terrorize the Indians.
A Guarani spokesman said they occupied their land because “We can no longer bear living with pesticides, hunger and waiting for the government [to act].” Many Guarani are being subjected to brutal and intolerable attacks as they wait in vain for the authorities to recognize their land rights.