LIMA: Protesters set fire to a police station and court in the Peruvian city of Macusani in response to a shooting that killed two people and seriously injured one during anti-government protests on Wednesday.

Dr. Ivan Fernandez, a health official in Macusani, confirmed the deaths, bringing the total death toll to 53 during more than a month of unrest following the ouster of President Pedro Castillo.

According to the police, the officers had to use a helicopter to escape from the burning police station. The capital of Carabaya Province is Macusani, located about 160 kilometers from the city of Juliaca, near Lake Titicaca.

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The deaths come as demonstrators gather in Lima on Thursday for an anti-government demonstration that organizers hope will mark the beginning of a new phase in the months-long movement to oust President Dina Boluiarte.

Along with Boluarte's resignation, the protesters are demanding the immediate closure of Congress and elections. Some are advocating for Castillo's continued incarceration. Boluaarte's resignation has been demanded by leaders of the southern Peruvian regions of Puno, Cusco and Apurmac.

The unrest began in early December after Castillo, Peru's first president with rural, Andean roots, was deposed and taken into custody for attempting to dissolve Congress and prevent his own impeachment.

Prior to taking office, Boluarte served as Castillo's vice president. He has said that he is in favor of moving the 2026 presidential and congressional elections to 2024.

Castillo, a political novice who lived in a two-story adobe house in the Andean highlands before moving to the presidential palace, won a slim victory in elections in 2021 that shook Peru's political establishment and widened divisions among citizens. exposed. The capital, Lima, and the long-forgotten countryside.