### Police, protesters clash in Mexican city

Staff and agencies
26 November, 2006

By REBECA ROMERO, Associated Press Writer 1 minute ago

OAXACA, Mexico - Police fired tear gas at dozens of protesters hurling gasoline bombs, rocks and powerful fireworks near the main square of this southern Mexican city troubled by months of unrest.

Federal detained at least three dozen mainly youthful protesters.

The demonstrators, some with their faces covered with bandanas, T-shirts or ski masks, hurled insults at the lines of federal police blocking the way into the square. The police used their riot shields to fend off the objects, then fired tear gas canisters, forcing the protesters to retreat.

Chanting "Ulises Ruiz, get out of Oaxaca," the demonstrators were angered by reports that a spokesman for their movement — the People‘s Assembly of Oaxaca — had been detained by police earlier in the day. Those reports could not be immediately confirmed.

The protesters set up camp at a square a few blocks away and still retain control of barricades in some sectors; they are now demanding that federal police leave the city.

Several governments, including the United States, have warned tourists to stay away from Oaxaca City, formerly popular with tourists for its nearby ruins, cuisine, colonial architecture and handicrafts.

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