Argentina protest turns violent

The clashes took place in the city of Las Heras, as more than 200 oil workers tried to free one of their leaders who had been detained on Monday.

The officers were said to have been unarmed. The federal government has sent police reinforcements to the area.

The oil workers have been protesting for the past two weeks, setting up roadblocks to demand salary increases.

Local media said they surrounded the station early Tuesday morning and threw stones at it.

Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. An officer was shot dead during clashes that lasted two hours.

Among the injured policemen, five are reported to have received bullet wounds.

The Governor of the province of Santa Cruz, Sergio Acevedo, said that none of the officers in the police station were carrying firearms.

He called the incident a tragedy and insisted that violence was not justified.

Argentina's Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez condemned the attack.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4690356.stm