One person was killed and more than 30 were injured in riots in the northern Colombian port city of Barranquilla on Monday. The violence emerged from spontaneous protests over blackouts and a lack of stability in the potable water supply.
According to local newspaper El Heraldo, the unrest began on Sunday afternoon when residents of the south of Barranquilla and the nearby town of Soledad took to the streets to protest a blackout that occurred subsequent to a 30-minute tropical rain storm.
The protests escalated and angry residents put up roadblocks, while claiming it took the local public utilities company, Electricaribe, 34 hours to restore energy in the city.
The situation escalated further when vandals began looting stores, attacking buses and damaging property belonging to Electricaribe.
Local police, accompanied by heavily armed riot police, tried to remove the roadblocks and clashed with protesters.
One protester from Soledad was shot to death by an unidentified shooter. A second man was taken to hospital after men on a motorcycle opened fire at him. A policemen was hospitalized after being stabbed. Other protesters were injured in clashes with police. According to Caracol Radio, a total of six people were injured in the violence, while Radio Santa Fe reported as many as 35 injured.
The riots, looting and clashes with police spread over a number of neighborhoods in Barranquilla and Soledad.
Sources
- Disturbios por apagones dejan un muerto y un herido en Soledad (El Heraldo)
- Un muerto y seis heridos en protestas por apagón en Barranquilla (Caracol Radio)
- Protestas por cortes de luz y agua degeneran en vandalismo, saqueos y atracos en Barranquilla (Radio Santa Fe)
