Peru gives Argentine oil firm three days to leave Amazon

Peru's government said Thursday it would give an Argentine oil company three days to withdraw from an area in the Amazon where its presence had sparked violent protests that left one person dead.

"I am going to ask the company to leave in three days," Energy Minister Eleodoro Mayorga told hundreds of indigenous villagers gathered in main plaza of the community of Pichinaki.

Villagers responded that they wanted Pluspetrol, the target of the protests, to withdraw immediately.

Speaking from the back of a truck, Mayorga said, "Three days is what (Pluspetrol) needs to leave with everything it came with," Mayorga said.

Mayorga was sent to the village in Peru's Amazon basin to try to resolve a dispute that erupted in clashes between police and villagers earlier this week.

One person was killed and 20 more were injured, police said.

Protesters have held demonstrations for four straight days to stop oil exploration in the region by Pluspetrol, charging its operations risked contaminating rivers and soil.

On Tuesday, a crowd tried to storm a military base being used by Pluspetrol as a storage area.

They were driven back by police firing tear-gas, but a 25-year-old villager was killed after suffering a gunshot wound.

Since January Pluspetrol has been the target of protests by Amazon indigenous communities seeking indemnization for what they believe is environmental damage.