Mexico City, Jul 8 (AP) The UN human rights office has said it condemned the killing of two more Indigenous residents on Nicaragua's Atlantic coast.

The office called on the Nicaraguan government to investigate and punish the crimes. The government has not yet confirmed or commented on the two killings.

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"The communities in this region have been seriously affected by violence in 2023," the UN office said in its social media accounts on Friday.

The area where the attacks occurred, known as the Bosawas nature reserve, is set aside for Indigenous groups and environmental protection. But settlers want to clear the land to ranch and farms. The reserve also has been hit by illegal mining and logging.

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Such killings often go unpunished in Nicaragua, where many of the settlers are thought to be former soldiers.

The UN rights office said it "calls on the government to investigate and find those responsible for these attacks, take action to prevent this from happening again, and guarantee the rights of the victims and their families".

The environmental group the Del Río Foundation said the latest victims were two park wardens and were members of the Mayagna Sauni As people.

The men, Sergio Julián and Serato Juwith Charly, worked in the Indigenous nature reserve known as Bosawas, which is inhabited largely by the Mayagna and Miskitu peoples.

Prilaka, an indigenous rights organisation, said Julian, 42, was shot by four men near the township of Betlehem on Sunday. It said Charly, 23, was killed by suspected settlers in the village of Wilu on Wednesday.

Wilu was the scene of an attack in March by suspected settlers that killed six Mayagna people and wounded others.

The Mayangna and Miskito communities have been hit by a number of attacks in recent years, with about three dozen indigenous leaders and community members killed.

The Del Río Foundation says about 60 per cent of the Mayangnas' territory has been invaded by about 5,000 settlers since 2015, displacing some 3,000 Indigenous inhabitants.

Indigenous activists say the government of President Daniel Ortega has not done enough to address the problems in the jungled region. His administration denies that. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)