BUENOS AIRES: At least 17 people were killed and 80 others injured on Friday in clashes between the police and farmers over land dispute in Paraguay, China's Xinhua news agency quoted reports from the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion as saying.

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo called an emergency cabinet meeting after the violence, and dismissed Interior Minister Carlos Filizzola, Health Minister Esperanza Martinez, and Police Chief Paulino Rojas to stabilize the situation.

The violence that shocked the whole country erupted at a private ranch some 430km northeast from Asuncion, when police officers tried to evict more than 100 landless farmers who occupied a 2,000-hectare ranch owned by a local businessman. At least nine farmers and eight police officers were killed in the firefights, while many more were seriously injured, officials said.

Agriculture is the pillar industry of Paraguay, but its distribution of land is highly off-balance. According to recent researches, 2 percent of the country's population owns 80 percent of its land.

- Bernama