A Brazilian senator was on Thursday injured after shots were fired at him during a stand-off with military police.

However, his brother confirmed on Twitter that he is not in a life-threatening condition.

Sen. Cid Gomes was driving an excavator towards a fence behind which a group of military police officers were taking part in a protest when he was hit by two bullets in Sobral in the Brazilian State of Ceara.

None of his vital organs were hit and he is in a stable condition in hospital, his brother Ciro Gomes, a former presidential candidate, confirmed on Twitter.

Video footage shared on social media shows Gomes driving the excavator at the metal fence behind which the police officers are protesting.

Photos taken subsequently show Gomes wearing a t-shirt covered in blood.

According to a report from Folha de S Paulo, Justice Minister Sergio Moro announced the deployment of federal security forces in the wake of the shooting.

Military police in Sobral have been conducting strikes and protests for months, arguing that they are paid less than their counterparts elsewhere in the country.

Police are forbidden from taking part in protests under Brazilian law. (dpa/NAN)

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