Tension in Chile: New curfew after the riots that killed eight people

The Chilean army general, Javier Iturriaga, in charge of security during the state of emergency decreed in Santiago, ordered a new curfew in the Chilean capital "to protect the life of all "Sunday, because of the persistence of the riots.

The new curfew, which adds to the one determined on Saturday, will apply from 19:00 on Sunday (22:00 GMT) until 6:00 on Monday (9:00 GMT on Monday).

Iturriaga said that he had decided to take this step to protect the security of citizenship and "protect the lives of all", and asked citizens to return home to rest in order to start the week tomorrow from the best way possible.

"I am convinced that it is the right thing to do to protect the lives of people, the vast majority of the city that wants to live in peace and in the norm," he said.

The contact will also be repeated that day in Concepción (south) from 22:00 local time (01:00 GMT), while it has not yet been informed if the same will be done in the other four Areas where totally or partially They are in a state of emergency due to the violent epidemic that has known the country since Friday: Valparaíso, Coquimbo, Bío Bío and O. Higgings.

These measures have not yet succeeded in halting the barricades, fires and looting that are increasing in the most conflict-ridden areas, the violent acts that straddle the civic demonstration that has developed in Chile. against famine and social inequalities.

FATAL BALANCE

The discovery of five bodies in the rubble of a burning textile factory northwest of Santiago has brought to eight the number of deaths recorded during this weekend's protests in Chile, announced today. an official source.

"Unfortunately, five bodies were found inside the factory, resulting from this fire," said the second commander of the Santiago Fire Department, Diego Velásquez, to the newspaper El Mercurio de Santiago.

Regarding the fire, Velasquez said that "the neighbors have indicated that it could have been intentional" and added that "it is a hypothesis that is being considered".

The burned factory is located in Renca, a commune in the northwest of the capital.

Karla Rubilar, mayor of the metropolitan region of Santiago, announced the death of three people this morning after the fire of a supermarket in the municipality of San Bernardo, south of the capital.

The firefighters found two bodies burned there and another seriously injured person was taken to the hospital, where he died soon after, the official said in radio reports Bío Bío.

In addition, several reports have reported more than 200 wounded and, according to the Minister of the Interior, Andrés Chadwick, 960 people were arrested today for riots as part of protests this weekend. end in Chile.

PERSISTENCE OF PACKAGES

The state of emergency is governed in five regions of the country, which gives the army the responsibility to maintain security: in almost the entire capital since Saturday morning and Valparaíso (downtown), Concepción (south), in the communes of Coquimbo and La Serena, in the region of Coquimbo (north) and the municipality of Rancagua (center) as early as dawn on this Sunday.

Moreover, for Santiago, Valparaíso and Concepción ruled during the night and until 7 o'clock this morning (10:00 GMT) a curfew prohibiting the freedom of movement of citizens.

For Concepción, authorities have already announced that the curfew would reign tonight from 22:00 local time and until 6:00 local time (1:00 GMT to 9:00 GMT on Monday).

The metropolitan area, in which is located Santiago de Chile, reported that 20 084 households did not have access to electricity, 13 916 customers of the electricity company Enel and 6 161 of CGE Energía .

The streets of parts of the country, which were the scene Saturday of violent clashes with the army and law enforcement, were covered with a visible amount of debris and damage.

Transport

Santiago's underground network remains closed, while the city bus company has reopened this Sunday.

More than 90 domestic and international flights to and from Santiago de Chile International Airport have been canceled.

In the early morning, about 5,000 people were stranded at airport facilities due to the cancellation of their flights. This operation was not possible because of the difficulties encountered by airline workers in getting to work when the curfew was in effect.

The militarization of the country has increased in an attempt to control the violent excesses in which the radicalization of the population protests against the rising price of the metro, the tip of the iceberg of the company's fatigue due to high costs and high costs inequality of country