Before Wednesday’s violence, Amnesty International had said on Tuesday (May 29) that at least 81 people had been killed and 868 wounded since April 18.
Wednesday also saw a massive march led by the Mothers of April Movement, a group of mostly mothers who said they had come out to demand justice for their children who were killed in violent crackdowns on demonstrators.
More than a month after changes to the Central American country’s social security system triggered student-led protests, demonstrations have morphed into a daily challenge to the rule of President Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla.
Ortega, an ally of socialist Venezuela, has resisted protesters’ demands that he resign over the killings. His government rejected a suggestion by the Organization of American States that it call early elections.