Government says protesters attack Peru's police station, military base
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Peruvian authorities say that protesters attacked a police station, a military base and a courthouse in southeast Peru, injuring at least 27 people.
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Supporters of ousted President Pedro Castillo hold a poster depicting Peru's new president, Dina Boluarte, along with sign "Killer" during a protest in Lima, Peru, Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. (AP)
Several hundred protesters have injured at least 27 individuals after attacking a police station, a military base, and a courthouse in southeast Peru, the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry said in a joint statement on Sunday.
About 300 demonstrators set fire to a police station in the Chucuito District of the Puno Province on Saturday, the Peruvian authorities said. The rioters also threw stones and Molotov cocktails, while two other groups of protesters attacked a military base in the town of Juli and a judiciary headquarters.
"Roughly 300 violent activists attacked the police station, throwing stones ... As a result of this reprehensible attack, 10 police officers received injuries and were evacuated in a military helicopter for receiving corresponding medical care. In addition, seven civilians are known to have been injured ... Simultaneously, another group of perpetrators attacked the Juli Military Base, leaving 10 other members of the army injured," the ministries' statement said.
The Peruvian authorities started a probe into the incidents to find and bring to justice those responsible for the violent riots, the statement read.
Read: Deadly protests in Lima after lawmakers reject early elections: Peru
At least 60 people have died in Peru since the beginning of the mass protests last December, while more than 1,200 others have sustained injuries, the Peruvian Ombudsman's Office said in February.
Moreover, almost 50 people were injured in violent confrontations between law enforcement and anti-government protesters outside an airport, a month after 18 demonstrators were killed at the same location.
A march had been organized in the city of Juliaca, Peru's southern Puno region, to demand justice for the 18 civilians killed on January 9, and protesters tried to enter the Inca Manco Capac airport.
Peru has been shaken by two months of protests by supporters of former president Pedro Castillo, who was impeached and arrested after attempting to dissolve parliament and rule by decree.
The events sparked a wave of protests across the country. Protesters demand that Castillo's successor, Dina Boluarte, step down and that fresh elections be held.
In December, the government of Peru proclaimed a 30-day nationwide state of emergency, to prevent protests that spurred since President Pedro Castillo's removal.
The state of emergency has been expanded a month later in the capital Lima alongside three other regions and in February in seven southern Peruvian regions; the latter will remain in place for 60 days, according to a notice in the government gazette.
