The protest has demanded the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and the organization of new elections. The number of people killed in the demonstrations has risen to 45.
In South America, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Peru’s capital Lima in an anti-government demonstration local time on Thursday. Some of the protesters also clashed with the police, and two people are known to have been injured.
The protest has demanded a president Dina Boluarte resignation and holding new elections. Expressions have not been stopped by the fact that a state of emergency was declared in Lima and three other regions in Peru last week. On Thursday, the state of emergency was expanded to cover three new regions, which means that in total almost a third of the country is in a state of emergency.
According to the journalists of the news agency AFP, the protesters, among other things, threw stones and bottles at the police in the center of Lima. The police, on the other hand, used tear gas against the protesters.
In addition, in the center of Lima, one building caught fire in the middle of the protests. There is no information on the cause of the fire.
Protests in Peru have been going on for weeks. A total of 45 people have died so far in clashes between protesters and security forces. Peru’s human rights ombudsman reported on the new deaths on Thursday.
Attacks on airports were attempted elsewhere in Peru
On Thursday, in the southern city of Arequipa, about a thousand protesters tried to storm the local airport. The police repelled the attack by using tear gas.
The protesters also tried to take over the Cusco airport, which is connected to the Inca city Machu Picchu, popular with tourists. However, the airport was closed. There were also similar protests in other regions of Peru.
Violence in Peru flared up in early December when the then president Pedro Castillo tried to dissolve Congress and set about running the country by decree. Castillo was arrested and is now in pretrial detention on suspicion of coup attempt.
Boluarte, who rose from vice president to president, has rejected calls for his resignation.