Militias trap many in Nicaraguan church

MANAGUA, NICARAGUA — Dozens of Nicaraguan university students remained trapped inside a Catholic church early Saturday as pro-government militias fired for hours overnight near the church and police sealed off the neighborhood. The students — along with priests, doctors, journalists, and other civilians — spent a harrowing evening under siege inside the Church of the Divine Mercy, hemmed in by gunfire. At least seven injuries were reported, primarily gunshot wounds. Late Friday, police permitted one convoy of ambulances to drive the wounded to a nearby hospital but kept the rest of the students penned inside. In recent weeks, protesters erected barricades in cities across the country to keep out government forces, including at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN), which students have occupied over the past two months. In recent days, gunmen in plain clothes, who appear to be coordinating with police, have been leading a charge to break through the barricades. Convoys of these gunmen, known as turbas, swept into cities south of the capital, such as Jinotepe and Diriamba, last week and clashed with protesters in attacks that left at least 21 people dead. On Friday, a large pro-government caravan drove slowly through Managua, with supporters waving redand-black Sandinista flags from car windows. As this parade passed by the UNAN, clashes began between militiamen and students manning barricades, according to the students. For several hours, gunshots rang out as students defended their makeshift blockade with some firearms but mostly the rudimentary weapons they carry: rocks, sticks, homemade mortars. By late afternoon, many students retreated back to the Church of the Divine Mercy, which is on the perimeter of the sprawling university campus and had become a triage area for the wounded. By early evening, the paramilitary forces and police had blocked off exit routes from the church, leaving dozens of people trapped, along with three people wounded by gunfire. On the streets, heavy gunfire rang out, and students fought back. For hours, police did not permit ambulances or human rights workers to get to the church. As the siege dragged on, priest Raul Zamora spoke by phone to Nicaraguan radio appealing for help. He said that the students had already abandoned the university barricades and that government forces should stop firing on them. “I don’t know why they want to attack us here,” he said. “It’s like they want to assassinate all the students.” “Please, I call on the conscience of the authorities,” he said. “If they have already left the UNAN, why are they attacking here at the church?”