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Photo: Jose Sotomayor/AP
In Peru, protests against President Dina Boluarte have again resulted in violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
In the small town of Desaguadero, on the border with Bolivia, a crowd burned down a police station and set a customs post on fire, according to a local television station on Friday (local time).
According to the authorities, 417 travelers, including 300 foreign tourists, were stuck near the Machu Picchu World Heritage Site in southern Peru, which is popular with tourists.
"We don't know if a train will come to pick us up," Alem López, a visitor from Chile, told AFP.
In December, around 200 stranded tourists were flown out by helicopter from the region around the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.
In the city of Cusco, which is also popular with tourists, the airport was reopened, and travelers were queuing for their flights.
Street battles between demonstrators and security forces
In Peru's second largest city, Arequipa, street battles broke out again between demonstrators and security forces.
Protesters threw stones and lit fires around a bridge in an attempt to advance toward the temporarily closed airport.
The security forces responded with tear gas grenades, as reported by an AFP photographer.
Clashes also erupted in the La Libertad region of northern Peru, despite a call for calm by President Boluarte on Thursday evening.
In it, the head of state declared her readiness for a “positive dialogue”.
Unrest following impeachment trials
Peru has been wracked by unrest since the ouster and arrest of leftist President Pedro Castillo on December 7.
The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of his successor, Boluarte, and the dissolution of parliament in order to hold new elections without delay.
At least 45 people have died in the protest wave so far.
Boluarte was Castillo's vice president prior to his impeachment and succeeded him under the Peruvian constitution.
She belongs to the same left party as Castillo.
However, demonstrators see her as a "traitor".
lmd/dpa