The Mascho Piro tribe consists of about 750 people and lives deep in a remote part of the Amazon rainforest in Peru.
After staying away for 100 years, new footage filmed by Survival International this summer showed around 30 members of the tribe seen on a beach near the village of Monte Salvado in search of food.
“It’s worrying”
The pictures became the starting point for a debate about what is really happening in the rainforest, as the Peruvian government has allowed several forestry companies to cut down forests in the area where the indigenous people live.
– It is worrying because these pictures show that this is not an empty rainforest, it is people’s home, said Jonathan Mazower, at Survival International, at the time.
He warned that continued logging could lead to the indigenous people suffering an epidemic. A common cold can be fatal as the indigenous people are not immune.
Already a couple of months later, there are now reports that people have died. But not among the indigenous people but among the forest workers who have now been attacked by Mascho Piro who have defended their area. Two forest workers are said to have been killed, another is said to have been injured and two other workers are missing after a clash with the indigenous population, Reuters reports.
Were attacked with arrows
According to Daniel Pena, spokesperson for FENAMAD, which is an organization representing more than 30 communities in the region, the clash is said to have occurred at the Pariamanu River in the Madre de Dios region.
It must have happened in connection with the workers working on a path in the forest and they must have then been attacked with arrows from members of the tribe.
The prosecutor’s office and the police confirm that they are investigating the incident. This is not the first time the region has been hit by clashes with Mascho Piro. At least four people have died between 2015 and 2022, according to the Ministry of Culture.