At least 17 people died in clashes between protesters and security forces in the southern Peruvian city of Juliana, the Ombudsman’s Office reported Monday.
In the most recent balance sheet of the protests calling for the removal of President Dina Boluarte from power, the Ombudsman for that region revealed that 17 people died “due to clashes with the security forces.”
Among those murdered in Juliaca there is at least one under 17 years of age and the majority are young, between 19 and 35 years of age, although one of the victims was around 50 years of age, according to medical authorities in the region.
A 35-week-old baby also died in the Puno region because the ambulance in which he was taken to a hospital was stopped at one of the protesters’ roadblocks, the Regional Health Directorate reported Monday in a statement.
The child had been treated on Sunday and sent to another hospital for respiratory failure and sepsis, but the transfer “did not happen because there were difficulties for the ambulance to pass through Molino, Juli district, Chucuito province,” in Puno, he added. .the notice.
The death toll since December 11 amounts to 46 people throughout the country, in what is the sixth day of protests after the Christmas truce, reports the Efe agency.
Deadly clashes in southern Peru caused the sudden interruption of the national agreement meeting chaired this Monday by Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, a group that brings together representatives of all powers, regional governors and various political sectors, reported Efe.
The national agreement is a public policy forum that brings together representatives of the three powers of the State, other sectors of the State, and business and civic organizations.
Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otárola accused the protesters on Monday of attempting an “organized attack against the rule of law and institutions” and a “coup” in the country.
In a press conference without the right to ask questions, Otárola said that the clashes were “an organized and systematic attack by vandalistic and violent organizations against the rule of law and institutions” in the southern region of Puno.
“As if they were in a war scenario, they tried to take over the airport,” he said, after pointing out that the responsibility lies with “those who want to carry out the coup.”
In the previous situation, the Ombudsman had urged the security forces to “make legal, necessary and proportionate use of force” and urged the Public Ministry to carry out “a prompt investigation to clarify the facts.”
This Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross for Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador expressed its concern about the new escalation of violence in the protests in Peru and also called on the country’s authorities to respect the proportionality in the use of force.
Peru is going through a political and social crisis due to the demonstrations that have shaken the country since the removal of former president Pedro Castillo, on December 7, who sought to dissolve parliament to convene a constituent assembly, create an emergency government and govern by decree ., which was interpreted as an attempted coup.
After the arrest of Castillo, who will remain in pretrial detention ordered by a court for 18 months, power passed to the vice president, Dina Boluarte, but the protests and demonstrations continued.
Among other demands, the protesters demand the anticipation of the elections, scheduled by the new Government for the spring of 2024, the dissolution of Congress, the convening of a constituent Assembly, the resignation of Boluarte as vice president and the release of Castillo.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will carry out its observation visit to Peru between January 11 and 13, to observe the human rights situation in the country.
The IACHR detailed this Monday in a statement that the mission will travel to Lima and other cities to “collect, discuss, and receive information from different sectors.”
Source: TSF
