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Five more protesters died in Peru on Monday as violent demonstrations over the ouster of the former president showed no signs of subsiding despite efforts by his successor to quell the unrest.
Seven people, including three teenagers, have been killed in escalating protests since leftist Pedro Castillo, accused of an attempted coup, was impeached and arrested last week.
On Sunday, new President Dina Boluarte sought to defuse tensions, announcing she would seek to call elections two years early and declaring a state of emergency in the hotspot.
But that achieved little, as protesters continued to demand her resignation, blocking roads in cities across the country with logs, rocks and burning tires.
About 2,000 protesters smashed runway lights, burned security booths and forced the airport in Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city, to close for hours on Monday before police dispersed them with tear gas.
About 100 Castillo supporters camped out in front of the Lima police station where he was being held, demanding his release and return to office.
“We have slept here for four nights and we will sleep until the president returns to the (presidential) palace,” protester Ana Karina Ramos told AFP through tears.
Also Monday, in Apurimac, demonstrators torched the prosecutor’s office and a police station.
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In Arequipa, protesters seized one of the country’s largest factories, owned by dairy company Gloria.
Train services between Cusco and Peru’s most famous tourist attraction, Machu Picchu, will be suspended from Tuesday to ensure the safety of passengers ahead of a nationwide strike called by Castillo supporters, the rail operator said.
Cusco’s international airport was also closed after protesters tried to “violently enter” it on Monday, aviation authorities said.
Seven people have been killed since Sunday, a source in the public defender’s office told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Marta Hurtado, a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, warned that “the situation could escalate further” and urged “restraint by all involved”.
Hurtado also called on the authorities to “allow people to exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.”
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