A clash in Ecuador between two indigenous groups has left at least 22 dead, according to reports from Reuters and the Associated Press. Officials say that at least 22 Tagaeri Indians were killed by a group of attackers from a neighboring Huaorani group. The apparent massacre took place near Tiguino, 125 miles southeast of Quito, in retaliation for the killing of a Huaorani during a previous raid on the Tagaeri’s lands. Camilo Huamoni, vice president of the Huaorani Nation of Amazonian Ecuador, reported that the attackers used shotguns and wooden lances. The Tagaeri live in nearly total isolation in a protected reserve, and have a history of confrontations with people trying to contact them, and with other Huaorani seeking access to resources on their lands. "This is a case of vengeance among clans," Tony Munoz, advisor to the Organization of Huaorani peoples in Ecuador's Amazon told Associated Press. The Organization believes that the conflict is a result of pressure from logging interests for access to the area. A statement from the Organization claimed that loggers had tipped the Huaorani off to the location of the Tagaeri.
