At least eight people were killed Saturday in Managua, police sources said, raising to 178 the number of deaths in anti-government unrest that began two months ago in Nicaragua.
Six of the dead were members of a single family whose home was burned down at dawn after a group of hooded armed men threw a Molotov cocktail, while the other two were attacked while clearing road barricades, police said in a statement.
Two inhabitants of the house survived by throwing themselves from a balcony, one of them a woman in serious condition and the other a child admitted to the hospital with burns, according to neighbors.
“This act of terror is a crime against humanity and cannot go unpunished,” tweeted Luis Almagro, head of the Organization of American States.
Protests for two months have escalated in a bid to pressure President Daniel Ortega to exit — upheaval the government has met with brutal repression.
The latest violence comes as the country’s Catholic bishops attempt to reboot fragile negotiations between government and civil society representatives.
In a surprise announcement late Friday, the clergy said rival government and civil delegates had agreed to create a “verification” commission and invite independent international bodies to probe the violence.
Under the new agreement, Managua would urge the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights — an autonomous branch of the Organization of American States — to investigate “all deaths and acts of violence, the identification of those responsible and a comprehensive plan for the victims so that effective justice is achieved,” Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said.
