Federal riot police battled Molotov cocktail-throwing protesters Thursday outside the state university's gates in the contested city of Oaxaca as a five-month struggle aimed at toppling the state governor intensified. At least a dozen people were injured, including policemen who suffered burns, a Mexican news photographer hit with a small explosive device and several club-battered protesters.The police — who used clubs, tear gas, water cannons and occasional gunshots to restrain the crowd — pulled back at midafternoon. They had been confronted by militants' homemade clubs, rockets and firebombs — the first time such weapons had been used.
Protest leaders claimed victory. "For our part, we are going to stay calm, figure out how many people are arrested, how many are missing, how many are injured," said Florentino Lopez, a spokesman for the militant's umbrella organization known by its Spanish initials, APPO. "We're going to have to organize and see what our next moves are going to be," said Lopez, who claimed that at least 50 protesters had been arrested or were missing and that many were injured.