Peru protest deaths keep anger burning

STORY: Protests in Peru following the ouster of former president Pedro Castillo have left 22 people dead - the youngest just 15 - and anger is simmering despite a lull in violence over the holidays in the heavily Catholic country.

Edgar Prado, a mechanic and driver from southern Peru, was one of ten people killed in the city of Ayacucho in the most bloody violence that has roiled Peru in recent weeks.

Edgar's sister, Edith Prado, said he was not involved in the protests.

"He was basically murdered by the military. For us, this was a cruel attack on my brother."

Edith said Edgar left the house he shares with her after gunfire hit their gate on December 15th, and he saw protesters being hurt.

Just before 6pm, security camera footage shows a group of protesters and others standing in the street where a person lies on the sidewalk.

Edgar is seen checking on the person while others run off.

A minute later, Edgar is shot and collapses. He died the next morning.

The military said they had come under attack, and responded with force.

The clashes began with the Dec. 7 ouster of former president Pedro Castillo after he tried to illegally dissolve Congress to avoid an impeachment vote he feared losing.

Parliament voted him out of office, and he was arrested for alleged "rebellion." Castillo denies the charges.

His arrest triggered an outpouring of anger at the country's political elite and Congress, widely reviled as corrupt and self-serving, especially in Peru's poor southern regions.

New President Dina Boluarte tried to stem the protests, and the government declared a nationwide state of emergency December 14, curtailing some civic rights and allowing the armed forces to support the police.

19-year-old Jhonathan Alarcon died after he was shot in the hip during the protests, according to his aunt and data from Peru's ombudsman.

In an act of protest, his family on Dec. 22 took his coffin to the plaza where he was shot - a red banner commemorating the victims of what it called a "massacre."

Jhonathan's aunt, Luzmila Alarcon:

"They (the military) are supposed to defend the territory or maybe confront another army in the jungle, but not to go out into the city, where there are children and elderly, and shoot the way they did."

The United Nations has called for investigations into child casualties in the protests. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has condemned violence by both security forces and protesters and called for dialogue.