Church says Nicaragua forces kill two protesters

GOVERNMENT forces in Nicaragua shot dead two young men at a protest site at a church on Saturday, the clergy said, on the third day of nationwide demonstrations against President Daniel Ortega, a former revolutionary hero now accused of authoritarianism.

The latest violence brings to at least nine the toll in the Central American country since Thursday, when protest- ers intensified opposition to the government after three months of unrest which has left around 270 people dead.

“They were shooting to kill,” one young protester told reporters at the Managua Cathedral, where students were taken after fleeing the besieged parish church.

“It was very hard. They had highcalibre weapons and we had only [homemade] mortars. Bullets were whistling over our heads . . . They even tried to burn the church with people inside,” a student who used the nom de guerre El Negro said.

In Managua, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in a protest parade on Saturday, demanding justice and early elections.

“Ortega wants us down on our knees. But he has not realised that this already has gone so much further than any amount of fear we could have,” said activist Azahalea Solis.

The latest events followed a general strike on Friday and a peaceful procession by thousands on Thursday.

“They are telling us that we have two dead and several wounded,” Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said on reaching the besieged parish withVatican envoy Stanislaw Waldemar Sommertag.

“This hurts us a lot,” he added.

The events brought widespread condemnation and calls for an end to the violence, including from the secretarygeneral of the Organization of American States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and officials of the US, Brazil and Chile.