Brazil police shoot dead 4 illegal gold miners on Yanomami reservation

FILE PHOTO: People who were working in illegal mining arrive in boats at Porto do Arame after leaving the Yanomami indigenous land, in Alto Alegre, Roraima state, Brazil, February 12, 2023. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian police and environmental protection agents were ambushed by illegal gold miners on the Yanomami Indigenous reservation in the Amazon on Monday and four miners were shot dead in the exchange of gunfire, a government statement said.

The Environment Ministry said their team was attacked when they moved in to dismantle a wildcat mining camp run by an organized crime gang.