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Bolivia appeals for end to unrest Move to tackle Bolivian turmoil
(about 6 hours later)
Bolivia's government has appealed for calm after violent unrest prompted President Evo Morales to declare martial law in the region of Pando. Chile has called an emergency meeting of the Union of South American Nations to help resolve the crisis in Bolivia.
On Friday, Mr Morales ordered troops to re-take an airport in the northern province which had been seized by anti-government militants a week ago. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said the meeting - on Monday - might help promote a democratic solution.
As many as 16 people, according to local media, have died in armed clashes in the region since Wednesday. President Evo Morales imposed martial law in the northern region of Pando on Friday, after clashes between opponents and supporters of the government.
The crisis has arisen over a plan by the Bolivian president to hold a referendum on a new constitution.
The turmoil escalated when President Morales expelled the US ambassador from Bolivia, accusing him of stoking anti-government sentiment.
Protesters have attacked gas supplies to neighbouring Brazil and Argentina.
The BBC's Daniel Schweimler in the eastern city of Santa Cruz - an opposition stronghold - says no-one wants to see a tense situation spiral out of control.
Secret meeting
At least 16 people have been killed in Pando in recent days.
President Morales accused the region's governor of hiring foreign hitmen to attack his peasant supporters.The opposition is fiercely resisting Mr Morales' constitutional plans
The governor, Leopoldo Fernandez, who rejects the claims, is reported to have fled to neighbouring Brazil.
The president has said that martial law is not needed elsewhere in the country.The president has said that martial law is not needed elsewhere in the country.
But in Pando province, a remote jungle region, firearms and meetings of more than three people have been banned, and a curfew has also been imposed. Both the government and the opposition have called for an end to the violence.
In Pando, it has been a real massacre Alfredo RadaGovernment minister The government representative in Santa Cruz, Gabriela Montanyo, concerned about her safety, would only agree to meet the BBC at a secret location, our correspondent says.
Anti-government protesters have reportedly fought supporters of the president with clubs, machetes and guns. The president wants to give more power to indigenous and poor communities, by carrying out land reform and redistributing gas revenues.
The government's plea for calm was echoed by opposition governor Mario Cossio, who had travelled to Bolivia's capital La Paz for negotiations. Mr Morales's attempts to change the constitution are fiercely opposed by opposition governors who run five of Bolivia's nine regions.
"We have agreed on the need for pacification of the country and an end to the violence," he told reporters after seven hours of talks with government officials. They and their supporters want greater autonomy as well as more control over revenues of natural gas in their areas.
The government reportedly decreed that crimes against humanity had been committed in the region before imposing the state of emergency.
"In Pando, it has been a real massacre," government minister Alfredo Rada told reporters.
President Morales recently accused the United States of supporting opponents of his economic and social policies.