A soldier drowned and five others were declared missing yesterday Sunday after they were swept away by river waters as they tried to escape from anti-government protesters who were “threatening them” in the Puno region (south), the general staff announced Sunday.

“Due to the difficulties, the flow of the river and the attack with stones and other objects by a group of protesters, six members of the patrol were swept away by the current, resulting in the drowning death of Corporal Frans Kanassas,” the staff said in a press release released.

Another “five soldiers are missing,” swept away by the waters of the Yave River, he added.

The patrol, which was heading to the town of Houli — where 16 people, ten civilians and six soldiers, were injured in incidents on Saturday — was intercepted by protesters who threw stones and other objects at it.

Faced with this situation, she “decided to take an alternative route, which included crossing the Yave River, to avoid the collision,” the staff explained.

Peru remains mired in a serious political and social crisis that erupted on December 7, with the suspension, arrest and pretrial detention of left-wing former president Pedro Castillo, who was replaced by his then-vice president, Dina Bolluarte.

Mr. Castillo, 53, is accused of attempting a coup when he tried to dissolve parliament, which was preparing to suspend him. He remains in a detention center in Lima, sentenced to 18 months in pretrial detention.

His fall after seventeen months in power sparked protests and violence that left at least 48 dead and more than 600 injured.

The protesters are demanding that Ms Bolluarte resign, that Congress be dissolved and that early parliamentary and presidential elections be held in 2023.