Protests in Peru: Two dead and four injured as calls for elections grow after Castillo’s ousting | Peru

Two youths have died and four have been injured during protests in Peru demanding general elections following the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo for his attempt to dissolve Congress.

A 15-year-old and an 18-year-old died “probably from gunshot wounds” in clashes with police on Sunday in the town of Andahuaylas in the Andean region of Apurimac, the head of the ombudsman’s office from Peru, Eliana Revollar, told local radio station RPP.

Baltazar Lantaron, the governor of the Apurimac region, told local television channel Canal N that “four injured people are reported, being treated at the health center, including three [with wounds] to the scalp, with multiple wounds”.

Thousands of protesters again took to the streets across the country on Sunday, including hundreds in the capital Lima, where riot police used tear gas to repel protesters.

The protests rocking Peru have particularly heated up in rural areas, strongholds of Castillo, a former schoolteacher and political newcomer from a poor Andean district in the mountains. Protesters set fire to a police station, vandalized a small airport used by the armed forces and marched through the streets.

Congresswoman Maria Taipe Coronado said the 15-year-old boy died of an injury during the protest as she passionately pleaded for new President Dina Boluarte to step down.

“The death of this compatriot is the responsibility of Ms. Dina for not presenting her resignation,” said Taipe, who is affiliated with the party that helped Castillo and Boluarte in their election last year as president and vice-president. -president respectively before both were expelled. of this party. “Since when is protesting a crime?

“The life of no Peruvian deserves to be sacrificed for political interests,” Boluarte tweeted Sunday after Taipe’s speech to Congress. “I express my condolences for the death of a citizen of Andahuaylas. I reiterate my call for dialogue and an end to violence.

Prime Minister Pedro Angulo said Boluarte’s cabinet would meet on Sunday evening to assess the civil unrest and determine how to respond.

Boluarte was sworn in last week after Castillo was fired by Congress and arrested for trying to shut down the legislature in an effort to prevent an impeachment vote against him.

Protesters, many of them Castillo supporters, have been demanding for days that Peru hold elections rather than allow Boluarte to stay in power until Castillo’s term ends in 2026. Some protesters have also called for a shutdown of Congress.

The Peruvian Airports and Commercial Aviation Corporation, which manages the country’s airports, reported the closure of Andahuaylas airport following attacks and acts of vandalism since Saturday.

Protesters set fire to the transmitter room, which is crucial for providing navigation services, he added.

The ombudsman’s office said Saturday that two police officers were detained for hours by protesters in Andahuaylas but were later released. Saturday’s clashes left 16 civilians and four police officers injured, he added.

With Reuters and Associated Press