(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Five Mexican federal policemen were wounded Friday during a failed bid to oust Oaxaca state officers who have occupied a station for two weeks in protest over work conditions.
The five federal officers were lightly wounded by bullet shrapnel that ricocheted off the ground during the clash, Oaxaca government spokesman Miguel Angel Munoz said.
Between 250 and 300 Oaxaca state officers have barricaded themselves inside the police station in the southern town of Santa Maria Coyotepec for the past 13 days, he said.
The federal and state officers took prisoners of members of each corporation during the confrontation, but both sides released their captives.
"We expect that the federal police presence will be reinforced to retake control of this facility," Munoz told Milenio television, voicing concern about the amount of weapons in the station.
One of the state police officers inside the station denied that they had used any weapons, saying it was the federal agents who opened fire.
"We haven't used guns at any moment. The gun depot is sealed. The notary came to check, the (local) human rights commission came to check," the officer told local media.
Oaxaca is one of Mexico's poorest states and has been the scene of social conflicts for years.
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