Peru declares state of emergency over mine violence

Peru declared a state of emergency in six provinces on Tuesday after protests over a big Chinese copper mining project left three people dead and 15 injured.

The announcement means freedom of assembly is suspended and police can search homes without a warrant. Armed forces will help police the six provinces, the government said.

Locals started protesting Monday against the building of a mineral processing plant at Las Bambas mine, complaining it will contaminate their water and their crops.

Three people have died in the clashes with police, said the governor of Apurimac province in the south of the country, Wilber Venegas.

The state of emergency resolution orders the armed forces to keep public services working by guarding critical infrastructure such as highways and bridges.

The mining project is located between the provinces of Cotabambas and Grau, and owned by the Chinese consortium MMG. It acquired the shares from Glencore Xstrata in April for $6 billion dollars.

Demonstrators said the plant was initially going be set up somewhere else, but that the new owners changed the environmental impact study so as to build in a town where residents did not want it.

"Our company has always obeyed the law and is always open to dialogue," the project said in a statement

The plant is being built at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. Construction started in August 10, and is scheduled to begin operations in early 2016.

Source: AFP