About 100 People Injured, 115 Detained During Protests In Colombia's Cali - Police

About 100 people were injured and another 115 were detained as a result of mass protests that erupted in the Colombian city of Cali on Thursday, police spokesman William Ruiz told reporters

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) About 100 people were injured and another 115 were detained as a result of mass protests that erupted in the Colombian city of Cali on Thursday, police spokesman William Ruiz told reporters.

According to his statement, published on the police's Twitter account, 46 people of those injured were law enforcement officers.

He specified that 56 robberies were registered in the city during the protests and 19 buses and five bus stations were vandalized.

According to media reports, over 200,000 people took to the streets across several cities of Colombia on Thursday, including Bogota, Manizales, Cali and Bucaramanga. A curfew was introduced in Cali.

Thursday's protest was initially planned to be held as a peaceful march involving students and professors.

However, the opposition announced its plans to carry out a general strike on the same day.

The demonstrators were protesting against the authorities' inaction in fighting crime and improving the economic situation in the country.

Meanwhile, the authorities have warned that protests might provoke unrest, which was the case in Venezuela and Bolivia, where riots led to a large number of casualties and significant material damage.

Ahead of the protest day, the Colombian migration service closed the country's border. Moreover, the government tightened security measures by introducing a ban on carrying weapons and restricting sales and the consumption of alcohol and announced the possibility of introducing a curfew.