Violence in Nicaragua leaves dialogue on the verge of rupture



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Diriamba, Nicaragua

The resurgence of violence in Nicaragua which over the weekend took at least 14 lives, has the dialogue about to break to resolve the crisis that has killed about 250 people in nearly three months of protests against President Daniel Ortega

Violent clashes and rioting against opposition protesters took place Sunday in the cities of Jinotepe and Diriamba (southwest) Ortega ruled out the election .

The Catholic Church, which mediates between the government and the opposition Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, proposed to advance the elections from 2021 to March 2019 in order to let turbulence surrounding the country since the protests erupted on April 18.

But after Ortega's statement and the bloodshed on Sunday, the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference (CEN) warned that she "seriously appreciated the continuation of the dialogue," which has been suspended three times since its beginning in mid-May.

On Monday, the climate of fear persisted at Diriamba, with residents being accommodated at home while about 50 hooded men dressed in plainclothes and carrying flags of the ruling Sandinista Front were stationed in front of the Basilica. of San Sebastián, where the protesters were entrenched since the dawn of Sunday

– "Completely surrounded" – [19659002] "We stayed completely surrounded all night, there was perhaps a hundreds of heavily armed paramilitaries who were passing us by intimidation. They threw mortars at the entrance and 30 or 40 minutes ago they fired two tear gas bombs. in AFP a young man trapped in the basilica.

About 14 dead left the Ortega force operation.

"We could not sleep, we could not eat, we could not clean up because we are surrounded, we are waiting for human rights organizations to come or that someone comes to make us go out. "

For the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, can not negotiate with "the representatives of a government that lies, who does not accept his responsibility and continues to attack and to massacre the population. "

The bishops called the parties at the bargaining table Monday in the audit and safety committees, and the electoral committee. But Sunday afternoon, they announced that only the first will work

The armed men, entered Sunday in Jinotepe and Diriamba with the police, overthrew barricades raised by the opposition, which caused heavy shooting according to witnesses and human rights groups.

Vilma Núñez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), told AFP that there were "at least 14 dead" on Sunday, including about four members of the Ortega forces and the rest of the opposition. 19659003] Police attributed the deaths of two of its troops – four killed in the combined forces of the government – to "armed gun terrorists" who were on barricades

. dismantled the barricades to circulate more than 350 Central American cargo vans that have been stuck for more than a month on the blocked Jinotepe Highway.

A delegation of bishops pos led by Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes and Apostolic Nuncio Stanislaw Waldemar Sommertag went to the two cities hit by the violence of the weekend to intercede on behalf of the surrounded settlers.

Ortega defeated to advance elections, violence continued

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega ruled out an advance in elections as proposed by the Catholic Church and its opponents have been demanding protests from nearly three months, while the wave of violence that killed more than 230 people continues.

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