Dozens of Indigenous activists forced their way into the secured compound of the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil, according to media reports.
Videos from South American outlets showed protesters breaking down a door and clashing with security personnel on Tuesday evening.
Thousands of Indigenous activists are also represented at the UN’s climate summit, known as COP30, in the Brazilian city of Belém. They are campaigning against the destruction of their ancestral lands, including through deforestation of the rainforest.
BBC reporters said they saw UN security staff running behind a line of Brazilian soldiers and urging delegates to leave the area.
Footage posted on Instagram by one activist showed a large crowd of Indigenous protesters waving flags and chanting in the corridors of the conference centre.
By late evening, the situation had calmed down. Access points to the venue were closed and heavily guarded by security forces. Within the conference grounds, security responsibility lies with UN police.
This year’s climate conference is being held for the first time in years in a democratic country.
The previous three editions of the summit were held in authoritarian states – Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – where repressive security authorities strictly banned protests and only allowed demonstrations inside the sealed-off COP grounds.
The situation is different this time in Brazil: protests are also allowed in the city itself. Further demonstrations are planned for the middle of the conference at the weekend, accompanied by additional climate strikes around the world.
