Daniel Ortega's forces attack a church in Managua: two students killed – 07/14/2018

In an escalation of the crisis that has already taken three months and has left at least 350 dead, two other youths died Saturday in an attack by Nicaraguan government forces against a church in Managua, where dozens of students have have been cut off since Friday. They protest against President Daniel Ortega

"They tell us that we have two dead and several wounded," said Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, arriving on the outskirts of the parish with the Apostolic Nuncio, Stanislaw Waldemar Sommertag, with the intention to withdraw some 200 students, priests and journalists besieged by paramilitaries.

The two young men were shot to the head one inside the parish and the other in a barricade. The body of the latter could not be recovered by his companions during the attack, witnesses said.

The ecclesiastical delegation arrived in mediation for the liberation of the students, who were surrounded by the official forces from Friday to night, and evacuated the wounded from the Divina Misericordia parish, located in the south of west of the capital

The journalist Sergio Marín Cornavaca by phone to the DPA agency that the situation was "very tense and serious ". Meanwhile, hundreds of people, called through social networks, arrived in vehicles near the church to try to "rescue the young" under the paramilitary headquarters

"We are about 200, the vast majority are students and we continue to be besieged by paramilitaries who do not stop firing, we believe that they want to burn the church, "said Marín, while of the On the other side of the phone there were firing weapons of war.

] More than 150 students sought refuge in the church after being shot by paramilitary bullets Friday night from the trenches they maintained at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN), a few blocks away

The cardina l Brenes, who tried Saturday to enter the temple, said that the government was the only "

During the first hours, the authorities cut electricity in the area, which increased fear in the parish.

Shortly before midnight, a priest left the temple with a Vatican flag to evacuate. the serious wounded and journalist of the newspaper Washington Post Joshua Partlow, who left after a church bargain. Another group of journalists was inside the church at the moment when they were cornered by the police

"They want to kill us", "we are surrounded", "help us "shouted desperate youth, beating bullets, in moments of greater tension around midnight, according to live broadcasts of three local journalists trapped in the church.

A caravan of vehicles was walking in the streets early in the morning near the church and then a group of people He was placed in watch at a roundabout at 1.5 km, in solidarity with the students. "Stop the weapons," "free them," "justice," they shouted.

The church's headquarters was the culmination of another violent day in the country's capital, plunged into a crisis since April 18. protests against an attempt to reform the social security system, which eventually became a big move against the Ortega government. The conflict has left more than 350 dead and around 2,000 injured according to independent human rights organizations. The government recognizes only 49 dead.

Shortly after noon on Friday, police, riot police and paramilitaries entered the UNAN to expel the youths remained entrenched since the beginning of the demonstrations

Desperate Messages

"Here we let's all die, "" Mother, forgive me, I did it to defend my country " did they say, between shots, boys squatting behind the barricades, in videos that they have aired during the attack on the university. Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and senior US officials condemned the events.

The Brazilian government has described as "unacceptable" "escalation of violence against civil society" in Nicaragua, according to a statement

The attack against UNAN it was produced in a day of work stoppage of the opposition, between There was also a confrontation in the neighborhood of Monimbó, in the town of Masaya, in south of the country, where a policeman and a civilian died.

Paramilitaries and police used "high caliber weapons".

"Terrible What Happens We Feel Powerless The Government Becomes More Difficult Every Day Vilma Núñez, President of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), told AFP :

Daniel Ortega speaks of peace

While the attack was continuing in Monimbó, Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo culminated the journey of a caravan of vehicles from supporters, who could not get into this district of Masaya, where the villagers are entrenched in resistance to the government

"We invite everyone (…) to take the path of peace which is the only one that will give us peace", declared Ortega in front of the police station of Masaya, heavily guarded