Peru anti-mining protestors killed in clash with police

[Judi Lynn]

Peru anti-mining protestors killed in clash with police
AFP
Sat Jun 25 2011 14:02:31 GMT+0400 (Arabian Standard Time) Oman Time

Peru: At least five activists opposed to mining in southeastern Peru were killed when riot police fired tear gas and shot pellets to keep demonstrators from storming the city airport, a local doctor told AFP early Saturday.

The violent protests come in the final weeks of the presidency of Alan Garcia, who hands power over to leftist president-elect Ollanta Humala on July 28. Garcia is leaving so many unsolved social problems that Humala recently pleaded with him to address the most pressing issues and "not give us a mine field."

Police also apparently used firearms in Juliaca, because the protesters who were killed, including one woman, had all be shot, local hospital doctor Percy Casaperalta said.

The victims were part of a group of some 1,000 mostly local Aymara Indian farmers who tried to storm the Inca Manco Capac international airport in Juliaca on Friday. At least 32 protestors were wounded in the battle, Casaperalta said.

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