OAXACA, MEXICO - Federal forces moved Sunday to take back this picturesque tourist town one cobblestone street at a time, bashing through barricades and pushing back activists who had seized the downtown five months ago in an increasingly ugly dispute with the state governor.

Police officers wearing riot gear and carrying shields were backed by water cannons, police helicopters and heavily armed soldiers as they marched from all directions toward Oaxaca's main square, the Zocalo, which used to draw tourists but in recent months has been a giant encampment for an array of groups intent on toppling Ulises Ruiz, the governor of Oaxaca State.

The police, estimated to number in the thousands, met resistance in some areas. Demonstrators clutching rocks and sticks tried to stop them, and bonfires in the middle of streets sent huge plumes of smoke into the sky.

By Sunday night, the Zocalo was ringed by police officers in riot gear and appeared to be controlled by federal forces.