Mexico sends troops to violent Oaxaca - AP

OAXACA, Mexico - President

Vicente Fox announced Saturday he was sending federal police into the violence-wracked southern state capital of Oaxaca after a U.S. journalist and two Mexican men were shot to death. The clashes occurred Friday as leftist protesters barricaded streets as part of a five-month-old campaign to oust the governor.

Fox's office issued a declaration saying that the federal forces would concentrate in Oaxaca on Saturday. His office later clarified that he was referring to federal police, not troops, but did not specify how many were being sent.

The president earlier had refused to send such forces to the city, insisting that the dispute should be resolve through negotiations. The conflict has been one of the biggest challenges for Fox, whose six-year term ends Dec 1.

Gunfire erupted Friday in a rough Oaxaca neighborhood when armed men tried to remove a blockade set up by protesters demanding the resignation of Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, according to state officials and witnesses. Both sides fired but it was not clear who shot first.