Eviction turns violent as Argentina clears squatters

Violence erupted in northern Argentina on Thursday (September 26) as some 100 families squatting in an unused factory were forcibly evicted by authorities after occupying the site for weeks.

Police were met with force in the city of Yerba Buena in Tucuman Province as they raided the factory, clearing shacks that squatters had built at the site.

According to local media, three people were injured as squatters resisted police with rocks and molotov cocktail when authorities cleared the 16 hectare property.

Squatting is a tense political issue in Argentina. In 2010, President Cristina Fernandez accused political rivals of encouraging squatter violence and illegal land grabs after three people were killed following a forced eviction.