A raid by pro-government forces left at least 14 people dead in southwestern Nicaragua Sunday, a human rights group said.
“This has been a horror. We have a minimum of 14 dead, but it could be more. That includes at least one anti-riot officer, one paramilitary member, and two police officers,” Vilma Núñez, president of the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights (CENIDH), told AFP of the raid in the Diriamba and Jinotepe areas.
The attack by “parapolicías” (parapolice) since the morning on Sunday a simultaneous operation was reported in the municipalities of Carazo. The National Police announced that two of its agents lost their lives.
According to the preliminary reports Sunday afternoon, in Diriamba there were eight dead and 30 injured; in Dolores three deceased and four arrested; in Jinotepe four deaths and 17 injuries; and in Hertyland five people are believed to have lost their lives. But that information has not been verified.
“This looked like an army occupation, they swept all the (road) barricades, there are more dead people who have not been able to confirm their identity, there are a lot of prisoners and wounded, a disaster,” Núñez added.
Up to noon Sunday, two people had been identified as dead: Jose Luis Mojica García, 18; and Luis Acevedo.
In the afternoon, the National Police corroborated that two of its agents lost their lives: Hilario Zavala and Faber López.
In photos circulated by the residents of Carazo, it is seen that the police maintain on their knees and in front of a wall a group of people, apparently protesters, who are in their underwear.
At dawn on Sunday, residents denounced the entrance to Carazo of trucks with parapolicías, as well as mechanical shovels.
IACHR says that the State of Nicaragua is not fulfilling its the duty to dismantle parapolicias
According to the stories, long bursts if gunfire were heard. The parapolicias also roamed the streets hooded, carrying high-caliber weapons.
Both the basilica of San Sebastián, in Diriamba, and the Santiago parish, in Jinotepe, were surrounded by parapolicias.
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