La Paz: Nearly 30 people were injured Tuesday in clashes between Bolivian police and supporters of ex-president Evo Morales, the government said.
The violence unfolded in the central town of Mairana, one of many places where protesters have been blocking roads since October 14 in solidarity with Morales, hoping to prevent his arrest.
Twenty-nine people were hurt, all but two of them police, said Health Minister Maria Rene Castro.
The police chief of Santa Cruz department, which includes Mairana, told reporters the police came under attack by some of the protesters.
Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, is under investigation for rape, human trafficking and smuggling over his alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl in 2015.
He claims the charges were trumped up to try prevent him returning to power. His mainly Indigenous base of supporters say he is the victim of judicial persecution by President Luis Arce, a former ally who has become a political rival.
They are also protesting the spiralling prices of fuel and food in the South American country.
The standoff between Morales and Arce escalated dramatically on Sunday after Morales accused state agents of trying to assassinate him while driving near the central city of Cochabamba.
A video posted on social media showed the pick-up truck in which he was traveling riddled with bullet holes and the driver with blood on his head.
The government says police fired on his vehicle after it ran a checkpoint and police came under gunfire from a vehicle in Morales’s convoy.
Nearly 30 injured in Bolivia clashes between police, Morales supporters
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Nearly 30 injured in Bolivia clashes between police, Morales supporters
- Twenty-nine people were hurt, all but two of them police, said Health Minister Maria Rene Castro
Uganda to shut down Internet ahead of Thursday election: communication authority
- There was no statement from the government on the shutdown
- The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision
KAMPALA: Uganda ordered an Internet blackout on Tuesday, two days ahead of elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his 40-year rule.
“This measure is necessary to mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks, as well as preventing of incitement to violence that could affect public confidence and national security during the election period,” the Uganda Communications Commission said in a letter to Internet providers, verified by government officials to AFP.
There was no statement from the government on the shutdown. The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision.
Uganda shut down the Internet during the last election in 2021 — a vote that was marred by widespread allegations of rigging and state violence against the opposition, led by singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who is running again for the presidency.
The government repeatedly promised that the Internet would not be shut down during the election, stating in a post on X on January 5 that “claims suggesting otherwise are false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension among the public.”
The suspension was due to take effect at 6:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) and remain in force “until a restoration notice is issued,” the UCC said.
Essential state services were to be exempted from the ban, it added.
