Hundreds of mostly homeless families living in improvised shacks in Buenos Aires Province were evicted by the police on Thursday, with violent clashes at the site they had been occupying for more than three months.

Some 4,000 provincial police officers stormed the Guernica encampment in the early hours, tearing down the shacks and miserable refuges of wood and plastic which were then set ablaze in scenes that sparked panic and fury among the temporary residents.

The evicted resisted the raid with stones and other projectiles while the police fired back with rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes lasting several hours.

Homeless families started constructing their shelters in Guernica in late July, installing themselves in the 100-hectare (250-acre) plot in southern Greater Buenos Aires.

Occupation peaked at 2,500 families, including many with young children, although many agreed to leave before the police operation.

Land occupations have multiplied in Argentina during the pandemic as millions of people have been hit hard by the loss of their jobs.

Most of the rickety homes, made out of chunks of wood, metal and plastic, were torched while police bulldozed the rest.

Buenos Aires Province, with 15 million people, is the nation’s most populous and richest region. It also has the largest disparity between rich and poor.

According to the Buenos Aires Province government, 80 squatter invasions had been taken to court by the start of October.

SHOTLIST:

1. Various of the occupation zone from the air
2. Various of shacks burned
3. Various of policemen in land occupation
4. Various of evicted occupants
5. Various of eviction
6. Various of shacks destroyed
7. Various of policemen in land occupation

STORYLINE:

Hundreds of mostly homeless families living in improvised shacks in Buenos Aires Province were evicted by the police on Thursday, with violent clashes at the site they had been occupying for more than three months.

Some 4,000 provincial police officers stormed the Guernica encampment in the early hours, tearing down the shacks and miserable refuges of wood and plastic which were then set ablaze in scenes that sparked panic and fury among the temporary residents.

The evicted resisted the raid with stones and other projectiles while the police fired back with rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes lasting several hours.

Homeless families started constructing their shelters in Guernica in late July, installing themselves in the 100-hectare (250-acre) plot in southern Greater Buenos Aires.

Occupation peaked at 2,500 families, including many with young children, although many agreed to leave before the police operation.

Land occupations have multiplied in Argentina during the pandemic as millions of people have been hit hard by the loss of their jobs.

Most of the rickety homes, made out of chunks of wood, metal and plastic, were torched while police bulldozed the rest.

Buenos Aires Province, with 15 million people, is the nation’s most populous and richest region. It also has the largest disparity between rich and poor.

According to the Buenos Aires Province government, 80 squatter invasions had been taken to court by the start of October.