LIMA, Jan 20 (Portal) – Dozens of Peruvians were injured after tensions flared again on Friday night when police clashed with protesters in anti-government demonstrations spreading across the country.
In the capital, Lima, police officers used tear gas to repel protesters who threw glass bottles and rocks while fires burned in the streets, local TV footage showed.
In the country’s southern Puno region, around 1,500 protesters attacked a police station in the city of Ilave, Interior Minister Vicente Romero said in a statement to news media.
A police station in Zepita, Puno, was also on fire, Romero said.
Health authorities in Ilave reported eight patients who were taken to hospital with injuries including broken arms and legs, bruised eyes and punctured abdomens.
According to a report by the Peruvian ombudsman, 58 people were injured in demonstrations across the country by late afternoon.
The riots followed a day of turmoil on Thursday when one of Lima’s most historic buildings burned down as President Dina Boluarte vowed to crack down on “vandals”.
The destruction of the building, a nearly century-old mansion in central Lima, was described by officials as the loss of a “monumental asset.” The authorities are investigating the causes.
Romero claimed Friday the blaze was “properly planned and arranged.”
Thousands of protesters descended on Lima this week demanding change and angered by the rising death toll in the protests, which officially stood at 45 on Friday.
Protests have rocked Peru since President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December after he tried to dissolve the legislature to avoid an impeachment trial.
Until this week, the unrest was concentrated in southern Peru.
In the Cusco region, Glencore’s major Antapaccay copper mine (GLEN.L) suspended operations on Friday after protesters attacked the site – one of the largest in the country – for the third time this month.
Airports in Arequipa, Cusco and the southern city of Juliaca were also attacked by protesters, dealing a new blow to Peru’s tourism industry.
“It’s a nationwide mess, you can’t live like that. We are in a terrible state of uncertainty – the economy, the vandalism,” said Lima resident Leonardo Rojas.
The government has extended the state of emergency to six regions and curtailed some civil rights.
But Boluarte has dismissed calls for her resignation and early elections, instead calling for dialogue and promising to punish those involved in the unrest.
“The full severity of the law will fall on those who acted in vandalism,” Boluarte said Thursday.
Some locals pointed the finger at Boluarte, accusing her of doing nothing to quell the protests that began December 7 in response to Castillo’s ouster and arrest.
Human rights groups have accused the police and army of using deadly firearms. Police say the protesters used guns and homemade explosives.
Reporting by Marco Aquino; writing from Isabel Woodford; Edited by Bill Berkrot, Leslie Adler and William Mallard
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