Peru riot police kill 3 miners, injure 29

Riot police have attacked gold miners protesting against a crackdown on illegal mining in southeastern Peru, leaving three people dead and 29 wounded. About 10,000 miners staged a demonstration on Wednesday after the Peruvian government issued a decree, ordering them to halt unlawful activities in the Pampa region, AFP reported. However, the police attacked the protesters. "We have to lament the death of three civilians," Interior Minister Daniel Lozada said. The authorities detained about 60 protesters, who held the protest rally in Puerto Maldonado, the capital of the region of Madre de Dios, which borders Brazil and Bolivia, officials said. Security officials accused demonstrators of using "explosives and other materials" in their effort to capture the city's airport. They also said that the miners obstructed bridges as well as key roads of the city with tree trunks, rocks, and burning tires. In addition, the protesters also tried to set fire to a market and banks in downtown Puerto Maldonado, the officials alleged. "Things are tending to get worse as the hours pass," Madre de Dios regional President Luis Aguirre declared. Five of the injured miners suffered gunshot wounds and 17 others were targeted with buckshot or rubber bullets, said an official from Peruvian Ombudsman's office. He added that nine policepersons were hit by stones hurled by demonstrators.