Tension and more protests in Peru: protesters burn a police bus in Cuzco and a toll booth in Tacna

The same day that the 17 victims of a bloody day of protests in Peru were buried, new demonstrations broke out in the south of the country,

A bus used to transport police officers was set on fire by protesters in the southern region of Cuzco, while another group of people set fire to a toll booth in the Tacna region on the border with Chile, official sources said on Wednesday . .

The Cuzco Police Region said the bus was attacked Tuesday night in the Cuzco province of Chumbivilcas by about 300 demonstrators from the Chamaca district protesting against the government of the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte.

Before the attack on the bus, which belonged to a land transport company, in the area clashes were reported between community members and the Police, who retreated towards their base.

The RPP radio broadcaster reported that the Cuzco Police Macroregion confirmed that there were no wounded officers during the collision and that the driver of the burnt vehicle was assisted by police officers.

This Wednesday a large group of protesters visited the city of Cuzco and direct to the local airport, which is manned by a strong contingent of security forces, with no clashes reported so far, according to Correo newspaper.

Incidents also occurred in the Tacna region, on the border with Chile, where protesters burned toll booths on the Pan-American Highway near the town of Sama.

Although no injuries were reported, workers from the Concesionaria Peruana de Vías (Covinca) company had to leave the area for safety reasons.

The Regional Health Directorate (Diresa) of the Amazon department of Madre de Dios, bordering the region of Puno, where 17 civilians died and a police officer in the clashes that began on Monday, said a group of protesters detained an ambulance carry three patients, including a pregnant.

The accident occurred in the Inambari district, at kilometer 182 of the Interoceanic motorway, indicated the Diresa, which claimed that the vehicle remained stationary “in the middle of the motorway for more than an hour, putting patients at risk they were being treated”. “transferred and the medical personnel who were on board the ambulance”.

“From Diresa, our rejection of these violent attitudes of some protesters and we demand that the authorities take immediate action to safeguard the integrity of our personnel and assets that are used to serve our population,” the agency said on its social media. network.

In the southern region of Ayacucho, this Wednesday marks the second day of a 48-hour strike called by social organizations against the Boluarte government.

During the early hours of the morning, the city of Ayacucho left without public transportalthough the other activities started without any incidents being reported, but citizen mobilizations were called during the day.

government measures

After the violent clashes unleashed in the city of Juliaca, in the Puno region, the Peruvian government made official this Wednesday the imposition of a curfew in the area for three days, from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am the following day.

The provision was announced this Tuesday before the plenary session of the Congress by the president of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Otárola, “in safeguarding the life and integrity, the freedom of all citizens of Puno”, according to what he said.

The government has also said so Wednesday “national day of mourning” due to clashes that killed 17 civilians and a policeman in Juliaca, a city located more than 1,200 kilometers south of Lima.

In that city, a large group of relatives and friends of the deceased remained outside the Juliaca hospital morgue, where three of the deceased remain unidentified, according to La República newspaper.

Demonstrations in the interior of Peru, especially in the southern regions of the country, are demanding the resignation of Boluarte and the closure of the Congress, as well as the calling of general elections and a constituent assembly.

Earlier this Wednesday morning, the Superintendency of Land Transport of People, Goods and Cargo (Sutran) reported that there are 61 disrupted transit points, including 12 national roads, in 6 regions of the country, including Puno, Arequipa , Tacna, Cuzco and Madre de Dios to the south and San Martín to the north.

EFE extension