Peru town hit by further unrest

By Hannah Hennessy
BBC correspondent in Lima

Armed people have bene in action several times in Ilave

Protesters have clashed with police in a Peruvian town where a mob lynched the mayor last month.

Officials said about 10 people were injured in the unrest in Ilave near Lake Titicaca when local people tried to block a bridge into the town.

A state of emergency is being considered by the Peruvian interior ministry in an attempt to end the unrest.

It is the latest problem for Peru's increasingly unpopular government.

I A doctor in the town hospital said the injured were being treated for gunshot wounds and the effects of tear gas grenades after hundreds of indigenous people clashed with police.

Last month local people beat to death the town mayor after accusing him of corruption.

Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi was forced to resign after the congress said he failed to end three weeks of violence in the impoverished region which culminated in the mob lynching.

Further north in Peru, hundreds of coca farmers have been blocking roads and burning cars in the central jungle region, protesting the forced eradication of their crops which is the raw material for cocaine.

This social unrest comes at a difficult time for President Alejandro Toledo who is facing calls from the main opposition leader and ex-President Alan Garcia to bring in a new politically independent cabinet.

Analysts say Mr Toledo, who has the support of only 6% of the population, could then probably ride out the remaining two years of his five-year term with the cabinet all but nominally running Peru.