At least eight people are dead in Bolivia after government security forces opened fire on supporters of ousted President Evo Morales. Dozens more were injured in an incident that could threaten the interim government’s efforts to restore stability to the country.
Most of the violence unfolded in the central Bolivian cities of Sacaba and Cochabamba. Many of the dead and injured were indigenous cocoa leaf growers — among Morales’ strongest supporters.
Angry demonstrators and relatives of the victims gathered at the site of the shootings, chanting: “Civil war, now!” The Associated Press reported.
In a tweet Saturday afternoon, Morales said the dead were “massacred,” and called for help.
“I invite volunteer lawyers who are experts in human rights and criminals to collaborate in the legal defense of my brothers massacred by the de facto government with the methods of military dictatorships,” the exiled Morales tweeted.
Morales ruled the country for 13 years, but was forced to flee to Mexico this month after allegations of vote-rigging in a campaign for a fourth term as president sparked nationwide protests. Morales denied the charge even as an Organization of American States review found widespread voting irregularities, the wire service reported.
The country’s national Ombudsman’s Office called on the interim President Jeanine Áñez to review the deaths.
“We express our alarm and concern over the result of an attempt to stop a demonstration by coca leaf growers from entering the city of Cochabamba,” the office said.
The U.N. human rights chief, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet issued a statement Saturday calling the deaths “an extremely dangerous development.”
“I am really concerned that the situation in Bolivia could spin out of control if the authorities do not handle it sensitively and in accordance with international norms,” she said. “The country is split and people on both sides of the political divide are extremely angry. In a situation like this, repressive actions by the authorities will simply stoke that anger even further and are likely to jeopardize any possible avenue for dialogue,” she added.