A soldier trying to avoid a group of anti-government protesters in the southern Andean region of Puno, Peru fell into a river and drowned this Sunday, after being swept away by the current. According to reports from the armed forces, five other soldiers are missing.

“Due to the difficulties, the flow of the river and the attack with stones and other blunt objects by a group of protesters, six members of one patrol were swept away by the currentresulting in the drowning of Corporal Franz Canazas,” the Joint Armed Forces Command said in a statement.

The statement confirmed that the army patrol was moving from the town of Ilave to Juli, with the aim of strengthen military actions in favor of restoring order, after the protests against President Dina Boluarte which took place on Saturday and which injured at least 16 civilians and soldiers and set fire to a police station.

“Patrol was intercepted by radical protesters by abruptly and violently blocking their way, threatening military personnel with stones, huaracas (slingshots) and other blunt objects,” the document indicates.

The Command explained, in parallel, that “in consideration of this situation and in order to avoid clashes with demonstrators who have acted with violence, threatening personnel and without foreseeing any possibility of dialogue; the patrol decided to take an alternative routewhich planned to cross the Ilave river to avoid the clash, taking into account that even the bridges were blocked”.

In addition to the five troops that remain missing, five other soldiers are interned in Ilave hospital for hypothermia, in stable conditions, reads the press release.

“The Inspectorate System, in turn, is carrying out the related investigations in order to determine the exact causes of the events”, he added.

The city of Juli, epicenter of violence in Peru

The city of Juli was the epicenter of violent events on Saturday when a group of protesters attacked and set fire to the local police station with Molotov cocktails, demanding the withdrawal of police officers and army personnel who support the public safety in place.

According to a joint statement by the defense and interior ministries, “about 300 violent activists” began the attack with stones and other blunt objects that day, and ten policemen were injured in the midst of the situation.

Also, it is known seven civilians injured and treated at Rafael Ortiz Ravines Hospital.

Simultaneously, another group of protesters attacked the military base in Juli, injuring ten other army personnel with cuts to their heads, arms and hands, as well as multiple bruises on most of them.

There was also another attack on the headquarters of the Judiciary and vehicles belonging to the police headquarters, police personnel and the military patrol were set on fire.

All of these violent actions occurred within the framework of the demonstrations against the government by Dina Boluarte, which have caused a total of 70 deaths since last December.

Protesters are calling for the resignation of the president who will be in power for three months on March 7 after replacing President Pedro Castillo as vice president, arrested after being ousted by Congress on December 7 after a failed coup. a time when he was under investigation for alleged corruption.

In addition, the protesters are promoting the closure of Congress and are calling for the elections to be brought forward to 2023.

With information from agencies.

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