At least 17 people dead and more than 800 wounded in the Colombia protest
At least 17 people died, and more than 800 were wounded in clashes that broke out in Colombia during five days of protests against a proposed government tax reform, authorities said yesterday.
The Office of the Colombian Ombudsman said 16 civilians and one police officer died in violence during the protests that began throughout the country on April 28, while 846 people, including 306 civilians, were injured.
Authorities have detained 431 people while the government deployed the military in the worst affected cities.
Colombia's ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, told Caracol Radio that the figure of those killed could be higher than the 17 they have so far listed. He said his office had received reports of 20 deaths but had not yet been able to verify all the reports.
Human rights groups and protesters have accused riot police squads of using unnecessary force.
The protests started on Wednesday when the largest trade unions called for a national strike to oppose the now shelved tax reform.
The government argued that the reform was key to mitigating Colombia's economic crisis. Its gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 6.8% last year, the deepest crash in half a century, and the coronavirus pandemic has further driven up its unemployment rate.
The proposed reform would have lowered the threshold at which salaries are taxed, affecting anyone with a monthly income of $656 (£470) or more. It would also have eliminated many of the current exemptions enjoyed by individuals and increased taxes imposed on businesses.
It caused outrage among Colombians already battered by the pandemic, and the protests were joined by many middle-class people who feared the changes could see them slip into poverty.
Most of the protests began peacefully but descended into clashes between demonstrators and public forces.
On Sunday, Duque said he would draft a new Bill without the most contentious points: a rise in VAT on goods and services and an expansion of the taxpayer base.
The Temblores NGO said it had recorded 940 cases of police violence against civilians and investigated the deaths of eight protesters allegedly attacked by police.
Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said police killed one person in Cali, one of the cities worst affected by street violence.
"I condemn this, and I ask of all police to not even think about using guns in these protests," the mayor said.
Police reported making more than 400 arrests nationwide. They also said that 20 public transport buses had been set alight by protesters across the country, 59 businesses had been looted, and more than 250 had been vandalized.
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