Peru market clashes: 2 more dead, 27 injured
Riot police fire tear gas at protesters during riots at a La Parada market in Lima, on October 25, 2012. Two people were killed and 100 more wounded when clashes erupted Thursday as thousands of police moved in to relocate a crowded wholesale food market in Lima, officials said. The fighting began when the Lima municipality placed concrete blocks at the entrance to the La Parada market to prevent trucks from entering, leading traders to hurl stones in protest and police to respond with tear gas.
Two more people were killed and 27 injured Saturday in a second round of clashes between protesters and police in Peru during rioting against Lima's insistence on relocating open-air market La Parada.
"One was gunned down and the other was apparently stabbed," director of the Dos de Mayo Hospital José Roca told EFE.
Roca said the victims, between the ages of 20 and 30, have not yet been identified. Another three people are also being operated on for gunshot wounds.
More from GlobalPost: Lima market clashes kill 2, injure 100
According to the Associated Press, police fought rioters with tear gas and batons, and reported 103 arrests. Rioting resumed Saturday after two people were killed in the first round of clashes on Thursday and authorities reinforced concrete barriers blocking access to the market.
Lima's mayor, Susana Villaran, blamed criminals hired by crooked merchants for the violent rioting, the AP also reported. She said La Parada, located near downtown Lima, needs to be moved to stop criminal activity and improve hygiene.
"All the real merchants who don't rely on criminals have said they want to move to the new market," Villaran said, according to BBC News. "We are regaining order and security in an area that has only been one of disorder, chaos, insecurity and filth."