Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit:CEN
This is the moment a Molotov cocktail hurled at cops during the ongoing Chilean uprising sets two female police officers on fire as it explodes at their feet.
The incident was filmed on Plaza Italia in the central Chilean capital Santiago while a team of ‘Carabineros’ (Chilean police) was trying to contain a protest.
The policewomen injured in the petrol bomb incident have been named as Maria Hernandez Torres and Abigail Aburto Cardenas.
The local authorities said that the officers are being treated in hospital, but they are not in a life-threatening situation.
Chile’s cops have faced allegations of violence and sexual assault against anti-government protesters as the uprising took hold in recent weeks.
The injured cops were visited by Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel, the director general of the local police Mario Rozas, and the sub-secretary of crime prevention Katherine Martorell.
Blumel condemned the “cowardly attack” and stated that the authorities “reject these violent acts”.
Senator Isabel Allende Bussi said on Twitter: “Defending human rights is also about rejecting this kind of behaviour” and added “I hope there will be many raised voices against this violence, burning and looting that does nothing to improve people’s quality of life”.
The National Institute of Human Rights in Chile (INDH) said that “several serious human rights violations” have been committed by the authorities during 18 days of protests for a fairer society.
The authorities are reportedly investigating 23 deaths related to the protests.
According to the INDH, over 1,600 people have been injured during the unrest while the Red Cross believes the number could be closer to around 3,000.
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