Peruvian President Dina Boluarte apologized for dozens of deaths caused in protests across the country in recent weeks, speaking to the nation in a late-night transmission on Friday (January 13), Reuters reports.
Weeks of protests have left at least 42 dead since early December, when former leader Pedro Castillo was ousted and detained after he tried to illegally dissolve Congress.
Boluarte said guns and ammunition not belonging to the Peruvian police and army entered the country through the southern border, demanding an investigation to know if they were used to kill civilians and a police officer during the recent days’ violent protests.
Many of the angry and sometimes violent protests have played out in key southern mining regions, but on Thursday (January 12) thousands marched through the streets of Lima demanding the closure of Congress and Boluarte's resignation.
Boluarte said she would not step down and that there aren’t legal conditions to shut down Congress.
Peru's attorney general launched 11 inquiries to identify those responsible for more than three dozen deaths of mostly civilians during some of the country's most violent social protests in years, her office said on Friday.
The office of Attorney General Patricia Benavides announced the investigations focused on the violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces in the heavily indigenous southern regions of Puno, Cusco, Arequipa, Apurimac and Ucayali, as well as the capital Lima.
Human rights groups accuse police and soldiers of using excessive force, including live ammunition and dropping tear gas from helicopters, while security forces say protesters, mostly in Peru's southern Andes, have used homemade weapons and explosives against them.
