Looks like it is over:
Mexican police seize center of Oaxaca
By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
5 minutes ago
OAXACA, Mexico - Federal police backed by armored vehicles and water cannons tore down barricades and stormed embattled Oaxaca on Sunday, seizing control of the city center from protesters who had held it for five months.
A 15-year-old boy manning one barricade was killed by a tear gas canister, human rights worker Jesica Sanchez said.
With helicopters clattering overhead, police earlier entered the city that was once one of Mexico's most popular tourist destinations from several sides. They marched up to a final metal barrier blocking the center, but pulled back as protesters armed with sticks attacked them from behind, hurling burning tires. The air filled with black smoke and tear gas.
Some demonstrators used syringes to pierce their arms and legs, then paint signs in their own blood decrying the police.
As night fell, however, protesters decided to abandon the center and regroup at a local university. They pledged to continue their battle to get Gov. Ulises Ruiz to resign, even as police tore down the banners and tents in the center that had served as the headquarters for months of often violent demonstrations.
At least eight people have died in the unrest since August.
For months, outgoing Mexican President Vicente Fox resisted repeated calls to send federal forces to quell the protests and violence in this city, opting instead to try to negotiate a peaceful end to the standoff.
But after the deaths of an American and two local residents in protests on Friday, Fox sent in thousands of federal police who launched the first major offensive Sunday to quell the unrest.
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