...a 10-year-old girl was shot dead in a poor suburb south of here during a between police and protesters who traded stone throws and gunfire... 

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Tuesday, 31 August 1999
 

Colombian strike turns violent with attack on union leader; girl dies 

BOGOTA -- Colombia's nationwide strike took a violent turn Tuesday evening as unidentified attackers shot at a union leader and a 10-year-old girl was shot dead during a clash with police.

Unknown gunmen shot at a car carrying Central Worker's Union (CUT) leader Domingo Tovar, injuring one his escorts, near a union headquarters in the capital, police said.

Tovar had just left the headquarters of the Federation of Colombian Educators (Fecode), which he also heads, when gunmen opened fire on his car.

Meanwhile, a 10-year-old girl was shot dead in a poor suburb south of here during a between police and protesters who traded stone throws and gunfire, a hospital spokesman told the private Radionet.

The girl was caught up in the middle of the clash when she was trying to gather information for a school project, the spokesman said. She was shot in the head and died at the hospital.

Until night fell, the first day of a national strike by some 20 million workers had been largely peaceful.

The only major incident occurred in western Colombia, where an unidentified armed group seized a hydroelectric power plant and briefly took 54 people hostage, without firing a single shot.