Protests in Peru resulted in 60 deaths since December
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Peruvian police also said on Friday that the protests resulted in the injury of at least 28 officers since December.
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Riot police fire tear gas at anti-government protesters in Lima, Peru, Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. (AP)
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 on Friday.
"48 civilians were killed in clashes [with police], 11 civilians - due to road closures, one policeman - from conflict violence," the ombudsman’s office said, adding that 1,247 people have been injured.
The Peruvian police said on Friday that the protests resulted in the injury of at least 28 officers since December.
Almost 50 people were injured in Peru in violent confrontations between law enforcement and anti-government protesters outside an airport Thursday, 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.
Protesters demand that Castillo's successor, Dina Boluarte, step down and that fresh elections be held.
In Arequipa, also in the south, hundreds of people marched Thursday to the Plaza de Armas square. There were also protests in Ayacucho and Pucallpa.
Further north, in the capital Lima, some 2,000 workers of the main Peruvian union, CGTP, marched through the streets toward the heavily-guarded Congress.
🇵🇪 Demonstrators carry the Russian flag at protests in Peru: “We need the help of 🇨🇳 China and 🇷🇺 Russia, as well as many other countries that see what is happening here in Peru,” said the protester. pic.twitter.com/T2XzDZ98dW
— 🅰pocalypsis 🅰pocalypseos 🇷🇺 🇨🇳 🅉 (@apocalypseos) February 6, 2023
Earlier, in Juliaca, hundreds had gathered for a march that combined cries of grief, anti-government slogans, and protest chants.
Officials said 62 national roads remained blocked as of Thursday.
On Sunday, the Peruvian government expanded and prolonged a state of emergency. Seven southern Peruvian regions -- Madre de Dios, Cusco, Puno, Apurimac, Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna -- fall under the measure, which will remain in place for 60 days, according to a notice in the government gazette.
Read: Peruvian government expands state of emergency amid ongoing protests
The measure authorizes the military to back up police actions to "restore public order." It also suspends constitutional rights, such as freedom of movement and assembly.
The decree provides for an 8:00 pm to 4:00 am curfew for 10 days in the department of Puno, the epicenter of the demonstrations, where 18 civilians and a policeman died in clashes on January 9.
