Brazilian farmers attack indigenous tribe with machetes in brutal land dispute

[Judi Lynn]

Thirteen members of the Gamela community hospitalised after vicious attack
No deaths reported but one man had hands cut off and legs severed at the knee

Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro
Monday 1 May 2017 16.38 EDT

Brazilian farmers in Maranhão state have attacked an indigenous settlement, severing the hands and feet of some of their victims in what appears to be a brutal escalation of a territorial conflict.

Thirteen members of the Gamela community were hospitalised after the assault by ranchers armed with rifles and machetes in the municipality of Viana late on Sunday, according to the Indigenous Missionary Council.

The injured included the the leader of the group, Kum ’Tum Gamela, a former priest and coordinator of the Pastoral Land Commission who has received numerous death threats while campaigning for the lands rights of his people.

Last Friday, several dozen Gamela occupied an area of what they claim as traditional territory. It was seized during the military dictatorship (1964-85), divided up among local landowners, and is now primarily used as pasture for cattle. But the Gamela – a group of about 400 families who never left the area – insist the land was stolen, and since 2014 they have stepped up a campaign for it to be returned.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/01/brazilian-farmers-attack-indigenous-tribe-machetes