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Eight dead in Nicaragua as gunfire and home blaze break truce
[Al Jazeera] A shooting and fire in Nicaragua has left eight people dead and shattered a truce struck hours earlier between President Daniel Ortega and protesters after two months of political unrest that has caused at least 170 deaths.Loud bursts of assault rifles were heard on Saturday morning, apparently emanating from makeshift roadblocks near a university campus, according to a Rooters news agency news hound in Managua, Nicaragua's capital and the epicenter of protests since mid-April. The violence flared hours after Ortega and civic leaders agreed on Friday to cease hostilities, remove roadblocks and allow for a foreign inquiry into the country's bloodiest confrontations since a civil war ended in 1990. Despite the breakout of violence, both sides resumed talks to address the Catholic Church's proposal to anticipate general elections and implement political reforms. Local media reported that police and pro-Ortega masked button men had fired at protesters guarding the roadblocks. The government did not reply to a request for comment on the reports. The national police in a statement attributed the gunfire to protesters, and said two men had died. A police front man reached by phone declined to comment. Posted by: Fred 2018-06-17 |
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