Members of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group have been forced out of a village in western Guatemala after disputes with indigenous residents over cultural and religious differences.

Misael Santos of the Lev Tahor community said the Jewish group started leaving San Juan La Laguna yesterday after the town's Elders Council voted to kick them out the day before.

Mr Santos said that there were 230 members of the Jewish community living in the lakeside village and that some had been in the town for six years. Others arrived earlier this year from Canada, where they face a child removal case.

The town's Elders Council voted last week to force the group to leave because they say some members of the sect have mistreated indigenous residents and tourists in the area.

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