At least 57 police officers, 6 civilians injured in Peru clashes
Lima, Jan 26 (EFE).- At least 57 police officers and six civilians were injured during clashes Wednesday between anti-government protesters and security forces trying to unblock several sections of the Panamericana Sur highway in the Peruvian region of Ica, south of Lima.
The official Andina news agency reported that the strongest clashes took place at kilometers 290 and 263 of the highway, where a police contingent unblocked the road and confronted protesters who threw stones with tear gas.
In the area known as Expansion Urbana, 10 police officers and six civilians were injured, while in the area known as Barrio Chino, 47 police officers were reported injured, one of them seriously, due to an exposed head wound.
The wounded were treated at the Regional Hospital and the Santa Maria del Socorro Hospital, in Ica, some 300 kilometers south of Lima.
The RPP radio station added that head of the Ica Ombudsman’s Office Jorge Hernandez said one of the police officers had to be intervened for “strong blows and cuts to the head,” apparently caused by the impact of a stone.
The Andina agency added that among those wounded is a firefighter who suffered an attack with stones, a 19-year-old man with the impact of pellets on the head and another 29-year-old man, due to a gunshot wound to the chest.
The Ombudsman’s Office reported on Twitter that it verified the care given to the injured policemen during the unlocking of the Pan-American Highway and that the officer seriously injured in the head has been admitted to the Ica Regional Hospital.
It said it rejected any act that prevents the transfer of people “who require urgent health care” and insisted on pointing out to the population “that the right to protest is exercised peacefully, without impeding the transit of ambulances and the health personnel.”
In its report on Wednesday’s events in Ica, the ombudsman mentioned the obstruction of the pass to a tanker that was going to put out a fire and damage caused to an ambulance.
He also said a one-year-old baby died Tuesday night in the southern region of Cuzco due to events related to the road blockade, bringing the total number of fatalities to 63 since the social outbreak began in Peru in December.
There are now at least three babies who have died due to events related to the citizen mobilizations that demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and the closure of congress, as well as general elections for this year and the calling of a constituent assembly.
To date, according to data from the Ombudsman’s Office, 46 people who participated in the protests have died in clashes, while a police officer died after being burned alive by protesters.
There are now 10 deaths in events related to roadblocks and one death that occurred in the northern region of La Libertad, police said.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported the death of four Haitians who could not receive medical assistance due to roadblocks, in addition to the unborn baby confirmed by the United Nations Children’s Fund. EFE
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