Lima-Peru-January 21, 2023

After tensions flared up again with clashes between police and protesters,

dozens of Peruvians were injured in anti-government demonstrations spreading across the country.

Police officers used tear gas to repel protesters who threw bottles and stones, as fires raged in the streets, local television footage showed.

In the southern Puno region, about 1,500 protesters attacked a police station in the town of Elaf, Interior Minister Vicente Romero said in a statement to the media.

A police station in zepeta Puno also caught fire, Romero said.

Health authorities in Elaf reported eight patients injured in the hospital, including broken arms and legs, bruised eyes and a punctured abdomen.

By late afternoon, 58 people across the country had been injured in the demonstrations, according to a report by Peru's Ombudsman.

The unrest came after a day of unrest, when one of Lima's most historic buildings was burned to the ground, as president Dina bolarte vowed to get tougher on "vandals."

Romero claimed that the fire was " properly planned and arranged."

Thousands of protesters descended on Lima this week demanding change and angry at the growing death toll in the protests, which officially reached 45 on Friday.

Protests have rocked Peru since President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December after trying to dissolve the Legislature to prevent an impeachment vote.

The unrest was concentrated until this week in southern Peru.

And in the Cusco region, Glencore (GLN.L) the main copper mine in antabakai suspended operations on Friday after protesters attacked the building - one of the largest in the country-for the third time this month.

Demonstrators also attacked airports in Arequipa, Cusco and the southern city of Juliaca, dealing a new blow to Peru's tourism industry.

But bulwari has rejected calls for her to resign and hold early elections, instead calling for dialogue and promising to punish those involved in the unrest.

"All the severity of the law will fall on those who acted by sabotage,"bulwari said on Thursday.

Some locals pointed the finger at pulwari,accusing her of failing to take action to quell the protests, which began on Dec. 7 in response to the overthrow and arrest of Castillo.

Human rights groups have accused the police and military of using deadly firearms. Police say the protesters used homemade weapons and Explosives.