Protesters take 65 police, general hostage in Peru

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

LIMA (AFP) — Thousands of protesters demanding a greater share of economic benefits from mining operations overwhelmed riot police in southern Peru on Monday and took hostage 65 police and a general, mediators said.

Furious residents of Moquegua, a town 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Lima, have conducted a weeklong road blockade to demand more from an economic boom that has enriched mining companies.

In a tense standoff about 20,000 people have converged on a cathedral where the hostages were being held.

The violence left about 60 people injured, including 13 -- mostly female police officers -- who were released by the demonstrators, Veronica Paredes, of the Peruvian ombudsman's office which is seeking to negotiate an end to the violence, told AFP....