Nicaragua: At least 10 dead in attacks by government forces

Meanwhile, paramilitaries opened fire on the vehicle in which Abelardo Mata, a Nicaraguan bishop who was heading for Masaya, a besieged rebel city, said officials of the Catholic Church is safe and sound

Bishop Mata is one of five Church dignitaries who mediate between the government and the opposition in Nicaragua

These are the latest episodes in the violence that is shaking for three months this country, the poorest in Central America, and which have totaled at least 282 dead and some 2000 wounded.

A murderous weekend

Six civilians, including two minors, and four policemen were killed on Sunday in police and paramilitary police operations in Masaya, about 30 kilometers south of the capital Managua, and its surroundings. The localities of Niquinohomo and Catarina, in particular, were also targeted, according to the Nicaraguan Association of Human Rights.

Residents said that the police had used diggers in the early hours of the day to destroy barricades, attacking their defenders

"They will destroy [la cité de] Masaya, she is totally surrounded," says Vilma Nunez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh).

"We are attacked by the national police and armed police auxiliaries of AK-47 and machine guns in our neighborhood of Monimbo", in the south of the department of Masaya, for its part declared Alvaro Gomez, a resident. 19659002] "We resist with homemade bombs and stones," he added.

"The situation is serious. We must open a corridor [humanitaire] to evacuate the wounded, "said Alvaro Leiva, the secretary of the Nicaraguan Association of Human Rights.

For its part, the official website El 19 Digital announced that Niquinohomo was now a "liberated territory of the dams" erected by the rebels.

Masaya, the most rebellious city of Nicaragua, is the epicenter of the protest movement, whose students are spearhead. The movement was launched on April 18 against the government of President Daniel Ortega.

72-year-old President Ortega has been at the helm of his country since 2007, having already led it from 1979 to 1990. He is accused of having severely repressed the demonstrations and set up with his wife, Rosario Murillo who occupies the office of vice-president, a "dictatorship" marked by corruption and nepotism. His opponents demand early elections or his departure.