3 killed as police, protesters clash over Peru copper mine
Sep 29, 12:06 AM EDT
3 killed as police, protesters clash over Peru copper mine
By FRANKLIN BRICENO
Associated Press
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- At least three people were shot and killed and 17 wounded in a clash between police and highlands farmers protesting a $7.4 billion Chinese-owned copper mining project, health officials said Monday.
Police apparently opened fire on the protesters when they entered part of the Las Bambas mine where the plant that separates copper ore from rock is under construction.
The local health director, Jose Soplopuco, told The Associated Press that two men died en route to the regional capital of Cuzco and one at the local health clinic. Percy Jeronimo, the oral surgeon running the emergency room, said three of the wounded were in critical condition.
Soplopuco said ambulances couldn't reach Challhuahuacho, the town of about 10,000 residents where the clinic is located, because police had shot at a vehicle carrying doctors.
More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_PERU_MINE_PROTEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-09-29-00-06-49
(My emphasis.)