RAGGED BEGGARS RIOT OVER BOGOTA NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Hundreds of beggars clad in rags clashed with riot
police on Wednesday night to try to stave off their eviction from a
dilapidated neighborhood in downtown Bogota near the presidential
palace, police said.

At least 15 police officers, journalists and passersby were injured as
the mob of homeless people and garbage recyclers, wrapped in blankets
and torn clothes, blocked one of the capital's main streets, torched a
passing car, and began hurling rocks and gasoline bombs.

Some 500 police, armed with plastic shields, fired tear gas and
high-pressure jets from water cannon as they fought running battles
with the protesters for more than two hours.

Dramatic television images showed flames and smoke billowing from
piles of tires scattered across the four-lane highway that runs north
and south through the capital.

``These beggars are attacking the police with rocks and explosives,''
a police spokesman said. ``These people are always high on drugs.''

The area where the clashes took place is about three blocks from the
ornate Casa de Narino presidential palace. Many of the buildings in
the dirt-poor neighborhood are colonial homes fallen into disrepair.

Hundreds of the homeless have flocked to the neighborhood for years in
search of shelter. They use the area for recycling trash and openly
trade and consume drugs there.

Bogota City Hall has vowed to evict the beggars from the area so the
houses can be demolished to make way for modern apartment buildings
and businesses.