The teenagers were killed in Andahuaylas amid unrest following the impeachment and arrest of President Pedro Castillo.
At least two people have died in Peru after police clashed with protesters demanding new elections and the release of jailed former president Pedro Castillo.
The deaths on Sunday came as protests against Castillo’s impeachment and arrest spread across Peru, especially in northern and Andean cities.
That preceded an announcement by President Dina Boluarte, the country’s vice president who was quickly sworn in to replace Castillo last week.
“I have decided to present a bill to reach an agreement with Congress to bring forward the general elections to April 2024,” Boluarte said in a speech to the nation early Monday, adding that he will present the legislation in the “next few days”.
Castillo, a former school teacher and union leader, was removed from his post by lawmakers on Wednesday after he tried to dissolve Congress ahead of an impeachment vote. The former president was arrested soon after, and the prosecution accused him of rebellion and conspiracy.
Protests quickly erupted across the country, with many supporters of the jailed former leader demanding that Peru hold elections rather than allow Boluarte to remain in power until Castillo’s term ends in 2026.
Some protesters have also called for Congress to be closed.
It was not immediately clear whether Boluarte’s announcement would quell the unrest.
On Sunday, protests were registered in cities in the interior of Peru, such as Cajamarca, Arequipa, Huancayo, Cusco and Puno.
Clashes broke out in Andahuaylas, in the Apurimac region, as protesters tried to storm the southern city’s airport, authorities said. Demonstrators fired slingshots and threw stones as police responded with tear gas, footage of the scene aired on local television showed.
A protester holds a Bible in front of police officers during demonstrations calling for new presidential elections after Castillo’s impeachment [Gerardo Marin/ Reuters]
Eliana Revollar, head of Peru’s Ombudsman’s Office, told a radio station that a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old died during the clashes “possibly as a result of gunshot wounds”.
Baltazar Lantaron, governor of the Apurimac region, told local TV Channel N that “four injuries have been reported, treated at the health center, three of them”. [with wounds] on the scalp, with multiple injuries”.
Hundreds of people also staged protests at the legislative palace in the Peruvian capital, Lima, where riot police used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Inside the palace, Congress had convened in an emergency session to discuss the crisis, but it had to be suspended after physical altercations broke out. In footage posted on social media, one man could be seen punching another from behind and members pushing each other in the center of the chamber.
Prime Minister Pedro Angulo said Boluarte’s new cabinet will also meet Sunday night to assess the civil unrest and determine how to respond.
Meanwhile, rural unions and organizations representing indigenous peoples called for an “indefinite strike” starting Tuesday in support of Castillo, himself the son of a farming family. The statement of the Agrarian and Rural Front of Peru called for the immediate release of Castillo, as well as the suspension of Congress, early elections and a new constitution.
The calls for new elections come as recent polls show nearly nine in 10 Peruvians disapprove of the nation’s legislature.
Peru is now its sixth president since 2016.
The power struggle in the country has continued as the Andes region and its thousands of small farms struggle to survive the worst drought in half a century.
The country of more than 33 million people is also experiencing a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections, having recorded about 4.3 million cases and 217,000 deaths since the pandemic began.