Brazil Indian leader killed in land dispute-Church

BRASILIA, July 9 (Reuters) An Indian tribal leader fighting for land rights in southwestern Brazil was shot dead by a gunman who his wife said was acting on behalf of local ranchers, a Roman Catholic church watchdog said today.

Ortiz Lopes, a Kaiowa Indian, was shot point-blank last night near the Paraguayan border by an unidentified man, Cimi, the Church's Indian advocacy group, said in a statement.

The assassin said he was acting on behalf of local ranchers, Lopes' wife, who witnessed the shooting, told Cimi.

Twenty Indians have been assassinated in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul this year, the same number as during all of last year, a Cimi spokeswoman said.

Violent conflicts involving Indians, landowners and police have increased over the past year as more of the 40,000 Kaiowa and Guarani Indians in the state abandon overcrowded reservations and seek to reclaim their ancestral lands.

Lopes had led a group of Kaiowa to occupy a farm they considered the tribe's ancestral land, Cimi said.

Cimi demanded a federal police investigation, protection for the Kaiowa group, and title to the property.

Between 450,000 and 750,000 Indians live in Brazil, which has a total population of 185 million.

Reuters SZ SBA VP0028