Thousands of Landless Peasants Clash with Police in Brasilia

Landless peasants have clashed with police in Brazil's capital during a demonstration to protest the slow pace of land reform and the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Reports from the scene indicate police and protesters suffered injuries.

The violence came as protest leaders met with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Details of the meeting are not available, but they are believed to have discussed his pledge to settle 430,000 landless peasant families by 2006.

The Tuesday demonstration marked the end of a 16-day, 200-kilometer march by some 12,000 protesters who are part of the Landless Workers Movement.

They also rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia to protest against what they called U.S. imperialism.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.