Massacre of Yanomami feared

Up to 80 Yanomami Indians are feared dead in a village deep in Venezuela's jungles.

In a report by National Geographic, the victims are thought to have been massacred by Brazilian gold prospectors. The incident occurred at a native settlement in Venezuela's remote Upper Orinoco region on July 5th.

The miners allegedly entered Venezuela illegally by helicoptor to carry out the raid. 3 survivors told authorities that they heard explosions and gunfire. Witnesses from a neighbouring village said they saw charred bodies and the burned remains of the under sieged village.

Brazilians prospectors have been invading Yanomami lands on both sides of the Brazil/Venezuela border for decades. The natives have suffered from disease, despoiled forests and rapidly changing social morales.

There are about 20 000 Yanomami living in small communities throughout southern Venezuela and northern Brazil.