Riot police stand in the capital’s main square during clashing with students in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013. Students are protesting in support of farmers who demand lower fertilizer prices, complain of being undercut by cheap imports from near and far of products including potatoes, onions and milk, and say their sector is being hurt by free trade and other agreements promoted by the government. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos announced Friday he has called on troops to patrol the capital following disturbances in which at least two people died.
Santos said that “to assure normality … I have ordered the militarization of Bogota.”
He did not say how many troops would be involved or how long the measure would extend. City officials said the measures did not include suspension of civil liberties and that police will continue to be in charge of maintaining order.
Violence broke out Thursday afternoon after some 30,000 had marched peacefully in support of a 10-day protest by small farmers.
Masked youths began hurling rocks and bricks and fought tear gas-firing riot police, shattering store windows. At least two people were reported killed in Bogota’s worst street violence since protests in March 2012 against the city’s troubled municipal bus system were similarly blighted by young vandals.
The president also announced that 50,000 military personnel would help police along highways, which protesters have often blockaded in recent weeks.
And he said Air Force planes and guarded convoys would be available to ferry supplies to cities suffering shortages because of the blockades.
Thursday’s clashes occurred just hours after Santos acknowledged in a nationwide TV address that “a storm” is battering Colombia’s agricultural sector and promised remedies. He opened talks with the protesting farmers Tuesday.
