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Soccer Fans Clash in Argentina

123 Argentinean soccer fans were arrested by the Buenos Aires police after 15 people were injured in an armed clash between Boca Juniors fans and fans of Rosario Central. The incident took place on one of the Argentinean highways, as reported by the police on Monday. The police said the gunfight began at midnight on Sunday, close to the General Lagos toll on the Rosario-Buenos Aires highway, when Boca Juniors fans returning from a Boca-Colon match in the Buenos Aires state city of Santa Fe, ran into followers of Rosario Central returning from a Rosario-Banfield match in greater Buenos Aires.

The police arrested fans and took them to the Rosario Country House police station, and carried the injured to the Clemente Alvarez and Centenario hospitals. Only three of the injured were severely hurt, suffering bullet wounds to the head. They were looked after in the San Nicolas Hospital intensive care unit.

The incident is similar to an April 2003 fatal clash between fans of Newell`s Old Boys and River Plate, on Highway 9, close to the Buenos Aires state city of Zarate, which killed two Rosario fans and left 13 more people injured. In the 2003 case, fans were traveling to away games: to Rosario in the case of River and to Buenos Aires for a Boca match for the Newell`s fans.