Nearly 30 injured in Bolivia clashes between police, Morales supporters

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales is being investigated for rape, human trafficking and human smuggling over his alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old member of his political youth guard in 2015. (AFP)

• Twenty-nine people were hurt, all but two of them police, said Health Minister Maria Rene Castro

La Paz: Nearly 30 people were injured Tuesday in clashes between Bolivian police and supporters of ex-president Evo Morales, the government said.
The violence unfolded in the central town of Mairana, one of many places where protesters have been blocking roads since October 14 in solidarity with Morales, hoping to prevent his arrest.
Twenty-nine people were hurt, all but two of them police, said Health Minister Maria Rene Castro.
The police chief of Santa Cruz department, which includes Mairana, told reporters the police came under attack by some of the protesters.
Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, is under investigation for rape, human trafficking and smuggling over his alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl in 2015.
He claims the charges were trumped up to try prevent him returning to power. His mainly Indigenous base of supporters say he is the victim of judicial persecution by President Luis Arce, a former ally who has become a political rival.
They are also protesting the spiralling prices of fuel and food in the South American country.
The standoff between Morales and Arce escalated dramatically on Sunday after Morales accused state agents of trying to assassinate him while driving near the central city of Cochabamba.
A video posted on social media showed the pick-up truck in which he was traveling riddled with bullet holes and the driver with blood on his head.
The government says police fired on his vehicle after it ran a checkpoint and police came under gunfire from a vehicle in Morales’s convoy.