Indigenous protesters in Colombia release police hostages

Indigenous and rural demonstrators holding scores of police and six employees of Emerald Energy to protest the oil company in southern Colombia have released their captives, President Gustavo Petro announced.

During a protest against the company in the town of San Vicente del Caguan on Thursday, locals clashed with security forces.

A villager and a police officer were killed in the violence while protesters took 78 police and six employees of the oil company hostage.

All 84 people have now been freed, Petro said on Twitter.

The protesters were demanding that Emerald Energy, which is based in Britain and is a subsidiary of Chinese group Sinochem, honour infrastructure commitments it made to the local community.

These include the paving of 40 kilometers of road, other infrastructure improvements and an easing of the environmental impact of the company's oil operations.

Images shared earlier by the government ombudsman's office showed dozens of police officers and a few civilians in a large room with plastic seats.

In a statement issued later from the presidential jet, Petro -- the country's first leftist president -- said he would go in person to meet with the protesting rural people but insisted there be no violence in their quest for a better life.

"Violent action practically destroys not just the possibility of having a grassroots progressive government but also the very paths to peace," Petro said.