The death toll has risen to five as tension escalates over the Conga mining project in Peru. On Friday, Jose Sanchez Huaman, a 29-year old farmer from Cajamarca, was reported to have died after receiving a bullet to his head from police in Celendín, where dozens of protesters have been attempting to take over the municipal government.
The regional president of Cajamarca, Gregorio Santos, confirmed the report and expressed his outrage via Twitter. On the social network, he declared those killed during the protests to be victims of President Ollanta Humala and his dictatorship in the capital.
Many of the 1.4 million people living in the mountainous and tropical state of Cajamarca have been rebelling for more than a month against the controversial gold-mining project that is expected to cause massive ecological damage to the water supply in the region.
Newmont, a US mining corporation, was recently granted approval by the Peruvian government to start the project after agreeing to take additional measures to preserve the environment.
Currently, the state of Cajamarca, which includes the provinces of Celendín and Hualgayoc, are in states of emergency and under military control.
