Two people — a police officer and a civilian — died during clashes in Kaketa on Thursday, while 79 police officers and nine oil well workers are being held hostage by members of rural communities, an independent human rights watchdog said.

The incidents broke out in a rural area in the municipality of San Vicente del Cagua, where protesters stormed an Emerald Energy oil well and set it on fire, according to Colombian police.

“It is sad that in the midst of these demonstrations, a policeman and a citizen were killed, while many policemen were captured and others were injured,” Carlos Camargo, the head of the People’s Ombudsman, said in a statement, stressing that the authority he heads offered to mediate to resolve the crisis.

Communities of farmers and indigenous people had already blocked access to the oil well, demanding that Emerald Energy, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned conglomerate Sinochem, shoulder the rehabilitation of the road network in the area.

According to sources close to the Colombian police, the two people killed yesterday were hit by bullets. According to the same sources, dissidents from the former FARC rebel group, which rejects the 2016 peace agreement, are active in the region and may be involved in the incidents.

Protests near oil facilities or mines are common in Colombia, where communities pressure companies to take over the construction of infrastructure, mainly roads and schools.

A spokesperson for Emerald Energy was not available when Reuters sought comment on the incidents.

Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, has ordered an echelon of the defense and interior ministries, as well as a force of the army, to go to the region to resolve the crisis and end the violent episodes, he announced via Twitter.