Two killed in dam protest between Mexico and the U.S.

01:15

Two people were killed in a gunfight with Mexican military police at a protest at a dam that is diverting water to the United States, according to the National Guard, as tensions rise between protesters and officials in the drought-hit region.

Farmers and residents in Mexico’s northern border state of Chihuahua are protesting water being funneled across the border – as more water is planned to be diverted to the U.S.

Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at security troops in the area, before occupying the La Boquilla dam and closing the gates.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the violence ‘regrettable,’ but added that the National Guard had been “prudent” to withdraw from the region to avoid inflaming tensions.

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