In Peru, Amazon Indian demonstrators are holding at least 38 police officers hostage in the jungle following a bloody confrontation which left 30 people dead.

The demonstrators are threatening to set fire to a oil pumping station owned by the state oil company PetroPeru if the police refuse to withdraw.

The police opened fire on demonstrators after they were ordered to clear road and river blocks near the town of Bagua in the Amazon on Friday. Eyewitnesses say police used live ammunition and shot from helicopters at the demonstrators. Nine of the dead are police officers.

The indigenous population wants a fairer share of the revenue from natural resources in the region.