ALBAWABA - Five Peruvian soldiers have perished in Peru while trying to flee protesters, venturing into a river without knowing how to swim and drowning there, according to a report released Monday by Peru's human rights watchdog.
Another soldier who tried to escape via the same route after clashes with demonstrators on Sunday remained missing. A search was underway to determine his whereabouts, authorities said.
Hallaron al quinto soldado muerto ahogado en el río Ilave luego de ser obligado por su superior, el capitán Josué Frisancho Lazo a cruzar el río.
— Justiciero Rojo ??✊? (@justicierojope) March 6, 2023
Ya son cinco soldados muertos y uno sigue desaparecido, debido al el ensañamiento de la dictadura contra Puno.#DinaAsesinaRenunciaYa pic.twitter.com/crNjo9k6gA
The soldiers were attacked by people armed with slingshots and sticks at a demonstration against the government of President Dina Boluarte in the southern city of Ilave in the Puno region.
? ¡¡¡ATENCIÓN!!! Soldados confirman que los pobladores, con palos, piedras y chicotes de cuero acorralaron a los soldados, luego para salvaguardar sus vidas tuvieron que cruzar el río Ilave, Puno, haciendo una cadena humana, pero los pobladores les seguían lanzando piedras. pic.twitter.com/mPiWLiEGJS
— Infórmate Perú (@informateperu) March 6, 2023
Puno has been the center of demonstrations that first broke out in December, when then-president Pedro Castillo was ousted and arrested after trying to dissolve parliament and rule by decree.
The bodies of the soldiers were retrieved from the Ilave River, a tributary to Lake Titicaca on the border between Peru and Bolivia.
