BOGOTA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 44 others injured on Thursday in clashes between members of the Misak and Nasa indigenous communities in Colombia's southwestern department of Cauca, Governor Octavio Guzman said.

Guzman urged leaders of both communities to halt any further attacks immediately.

"We cannot allow this situation to continue escalating," he said, adding that no dispute could justify deaths, injuries and risks to civilians.

Misak leader Liliana Pechene said in a video that one of those killed was an ancestral authority from her community. She accused members of the Nasa community of occupying Misak territory irregularly and called for urgent government intervention to rescue people allegedly being held in the municipality of Silvia.

Colombia's Interior Ministry said it had launched talks with representatives of both communities to seek agreements and end the violence. ■