Two dead, four injured in Peru protests to demand elections

Two teens were killed and four people injured in Peru yesterday during protests demanding the country hold general elections following the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo, police and local authorities said.

President Dina Boluarte was sworn in last week after Castillo was sacked by Congress and arrested for attempting to dissolve the legislature in an effort to prevent an impeachment vote against him.

Demonstrators, many of them Castillo supporters, have for days demanded that Peru hold elections rather than allow Boluarte to stay in power until Castillo's term ends in 2026. Some protesters also called for Congress to be shuttered.

The head of Peru's ombudsman's office, Eliana Revollar, told local radio station RPP that a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old died during clashes with police in the city of Andahuaylas, in the Andean region of Apurimac, "possibly as a result of gunshot wounds".

Baltazar Lantaron, governor of the Apurimac region, told local television station Canal N that "four injuries are reported, treated at the health centre, three of them (with wounds) to the scalp, with multiple injuries".

The Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation, which manages the country's airports, reported the closure of the Andahuaylas airport following attacks and acts of vandalism since Saturday.

Protesters set fire to the transmitter room, which is crucial for providing navigation services, it added.

The ombudsman's office on Saturday said two police officers were held for hours by protesters in Andahuaylas but were later released. Clashes on Saturday left 16 civilians and four police officers injured, it said.

- Reuters