A church has been burned down in southern Chile in the latest attack from the Mapuche indigenous people, who are campaigning to reclaim ancestral lands, according to authorities.
At the site of the fire on Tuesday was a poster with slogans against the Catholic bishop of Villarrica, Javier Stegmeier, accusing him of being complcit in the "state repression" against Mapuche people.
Twelve churches have been the target of arson attacks in the last two years in this region of Chile. More than half of them have been in the municipality of Ercilla.
The latest attack comes after meetings were held seeking a solution to the violent episodes between the governor of the Araucania, Andres Jouannet, and the Catholic Church.
"The burning of churches is the greatest intolerance ever seen," Jouannet told media on Tuesday.
"If they burn one of our churches, we're going to rebuild it and we're going to do so with the community. And if there are 13, 14 or 20, we're going to rebuild them. What cannot be accepted is intolerance, attacking the freedom of religion and the faith," he added.
"We're going to rebuild all the chapels and churches, and quickly," he said.
The Mapuche people lost a significant amount of land during a brutal late-19th century "pacification" campaign against the indigenous people of the Araucania and Bio Bio regions.
In the struggle to reclaim the land, some Mapuche people have been killed and dozens have been sent to prison, mainly for crimes against property.
The Mapuches make up around 650,000 of Chile's 17 million population and are concentrated in Araucania and greater Santiago.
