Chile Sends Troops to Stop Looters

Clinton to visit Santiago tomorrow morning
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2010 1:25 AM CST
Updated Mar 1, 2010 4:45 AM CST
Chile Sends Troops to Stop Looters
Firemen look for survivors on an earthquake destroyed building in Concepcion, Chile.   (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The Chilean government has sent in 10,000 troops to control looting earthquake survivors scrambling for food and water. Reports of looting are widespread despite government efforts to distribute food. "People have gone days without eating," a thief in the city of Concepcion tells Reuters. "The only option is to get stuff for ourselves." The mayor of Concepcion described the city as "out of control."

In Concepcion, as in other cities, authorities have tried to control residents by enforcing a night-time curfew. Aftershocks from the 8.8-magnitude quake that killed some 708 people continue to inflict damage, pushing the number of destroyed homes into the hundreds of thousands. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Santiago tomorrow "to show America's support for the people of Chile."
(More Chile stories.)

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