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The Mashco-Piro: Safe Haven Under Threat Oil developers are also eyeing the traditional territories of the Mashco-Piro peoples of the Upper Purús region bordering Brazil who shun all contact with the outside world. In 1997, the Peruvian government created the Mashco-Piro Reserve to protect them and other smaller uncontacted groups with no known name. Recently, violent clashes erupted when illegal loggers and missionaries entered their lands in breach of their territorial rights. In February 2001 the Mashco-Piro attacked a logging party with arrows - the loggers armed with guns shot and killed an unknown number of Mashco-Piro. Hunt Oil had been conducting exploratory studies in the area but withdrew from the region in January 2003. Hunt workers had sightings of uncontacted groups, as confirmed in interview with the Peruvian NGO Shinai Serjali (www.serjali.org).
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