A female student died and 17 police officers were injured at a protest by Chile’s Mapuche Indigenous people in the country’s capital Santiago on Sunday.

Police said a group of people wearing hoods had attacked officers with fireworks, one of which hit the woman.

Police said ten people were detained at the “march for Mapuche resistance and autonomy.”

The woman who died was a law student who was observing the demonstration for a human rights organisation, the organisation and her university said.

Her mother told journalists no one believed the police’s explanation. Social media users accused the security forces of brutality against protesters and demanded clarification.

Chile has seen regular anti-government protests since late 2019. The country’s police, the Carabineros, have repeatedly been criticised for their brutal response.

More than 30 people have died and hundreds have been injured during the demonstrations.

Chile’s constituent assembly began drafting a new constitution in July in response to the protests.

The assembly is being led by Elise Loncon, a Mapuche university professor. Seventeen of the 155 seats were reserved for Indigenous members – seven of which were for Mapuche people.

The Mapuche have been fighting for decades for the return of their lands.

(NAN)