Peru mine workers end 2-day strike

Workers at Peru's Doe Run mine returned to work Thursday after a two-day strike demanding an end to environmental restrictions that they said hamper their ability to earn a living.

Clashes left one person dead and dozens injured during protests Tuesday that saw workers blocking roads across central Peru, prompting the government to send in troops.

Juan Pacotaype, a police official in La Oraya, the mining town northeast of Lima where the protests took place, told AFP demonstrators began dismantling the roadblocks on Thursday.

"Now traffic and commerce can flow normally," Pacotaype said.

President Ollanta Humala praised the truce, telling reporters that the protests had been counter-productive. Officials said workers and management had created a committee to hold talks about the miners' concerns.

"I have an agreement between the parties, and this has allowed us to restore transit," he said. "Violence doesn't resolve conflict."

The mine workers went on strike Tuesday to press the government to lift environmental restrictions on Doe Run Peru to enable the troubled mining company to return to full production.

Hundreds of miners filled the streets of La Oroya and cut off a highway that links the city to the capital during the protests.

Owned by US-based Renco, the mining company operates a polymetallic smelter in La Oroya that is blamed for serious environmental problems in the city, in the Andes 178 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of Lima.