NEW clashes have been reported in Cusco as the protests against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte’s government spread across the south of the Andean country.

Forty-seven people have been killed so far in the protests, which have raged since a congressional coup led to Pedro Castillo being ousted and detained last month.

Health officials in Cusco said that 16 civilians and six police officers had been injured on Wednesday when protesters tried to take over the city’s airport, at which many foreign tourists arrive to see attractions such as the nearby Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

Protests and road blockades against Ms Boluarte and in support of Mr Castillo were also seen in 41 provinces of the country.

The protesters, concentrated in neglected rural areas of the country’s south that remain loyal to Mr Castillo, are demanding immediate elections, Ms Boluarte’s resignation, the release of the ousted president and justice for the protesters killed by police.

Some of the worst violence took place on Monday, when 17 people were killed in clashes with police in the city of Juliaca near Lake Titicaca and protesters later attacked and burnt an officer to death.

Peru’s Ombudsman’s Office said that, in total, 39 civilians had been killed in clashes with police and another seven had died in traffic accidents related to road blockades.

Ms Boluarte’s government has announced a three-day curfew from 8pm to 4pm in Puno.

The National Prosecutor’s Office said that it had requested information from the presidency of the council of ministers and the defence and interior ministries for an investigation that it has opened against Ms Boluarte and other officials in relation to the protest deaths.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights began a visit to Peru to look into the protests and to evaluate the response of the police.

Ms Boluarte was Mr Castillo’s running mate in the last elections and then served as first vice-president before being evelated to the top job by Congress.

She has said that she supports a plan to bring forward to 2024 presidential and congressional elections originally scheduled for 2026.

Ms Boluarte also expressed support for judicial investigations into whether security forces acted with excessive force.

But such gestures have so far failed to quell the unrest, which, after a short respite in the Christmas and New Year period, have resumed with force in some of Peru’s poorest areas.

Mr Castillo, a former primary school teacher and trade union leader, rocked Peru’s political establishment by winning the 2021 presidential elections.