Man Dies During Clashes Between Colombian Miners and Police

Peaceful protests by miners in Segovia in the Colombian region of Antioquia, have been violently suppressed by the Anti-riot Mobile Squadron - ESMAD.

Local media reports say one person has been killed and three others injured.

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The dead miner has been identified as Alexis Gregorio Acevedo.

"It was as if we had been in a war, the only difference being that the ones who were armed were ESMAD," teleSUR correspondent Lorena Hoyos explained.

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The conflict escalated in the evening but had been calmer during the day. A human rights commission, with delegates from the Interior Ministry and the Attorney General's Office, had arrived in Segovia to meet the mining community to try to find an agreement to their dispute.

The strike in the northeast region of Antioquia began on July 21, when workers moved to protect their traditional livelihoods in the towns of Remedios and Segovia.

More than 10000 artisanal and ancestral Colombian miners started protesting against the expansion plans of multinational mining companies.

The local communities said their human rights have been violated during the demonstrations.

Police have been accused of using hospitals, schools and even childcare facilities as a base to attack the locals. Residents also allege officers offered benefits and money in exchange for information about the protesters' leader.

More than 340,000 Colombians depend directly on small and medium scale mining for their livelihoods