Hundreds of Peruvians converge on Lima to resume protests

Hundreds of Peruvians left the southern Andean regions of the country for Lima on Monday to resume protests, which have already claimed 48 lives, against President Dina Boluarte.

Residents of the town of Juli, located in the Puno region, 1,400 km southeast of the capital, gathered on Monday afternoon to say goodbye to some 140 people who were preparing to board two buses for Lima. The protesters, mostly men, left their town to the applause of residents.

," Emilio Clavitea, a 55-year-old construction worker, told AFP.

Further north, 250 residents of the town of Ilave were also on their way to Lima, a local source told AFP, adding that similar convoys were seen in four other towns in the region.

It is one of the first mass departures organized since mid-January, when thousands of Peruvians from the Andean regions converged on the capital to demand the resignation of the Peruvian president.

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In Juliaca, the main city of this Andean region, the clashes between police and demonstrators were particularly violent, especially on January 9 when 18 civilians died and a policeman was injured.

The Peruvian prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the action of the police during this bloody day.

In addition, the Minister of Defense confirmed to local radio on Monday that an internal investigation within the police was underway into the security forces' handling of anti-government protests.

Peru is embroiled in a serious political and social crisis that erupted on December 7 with the ousting and imprisonment of former left-wing president Pedro Castillo, replaced by his vice-president Dina Boluarte.