Thousands of people take to the Arequipa airport, the third largest in Peru

Thousands of people have taken this Monday the airport of Arequipa, in the south of Peru, which has unleashed a confrontation with the security forces that has resulted in at least four injuries, according to the first information collected by the local media.

Some 2,000 protesters against the current government have entered the main runway of the Alfredo Rodríguez Ballón International Airport, while there have been attacks against other facilities. Members of the National Police and also the Armed Forces have been deployed in the area, reports the RPP radio station.

The company that manages the aerodrome, Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú, has reported the "closure" of the facilities until further notice. All personnel have been evacuated, the company has indicated, in a statement confirming that the airport has been "invaded" by a group that "has put passenger safety at risk" with attacks on infrastructure.

Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú has urged the population "to cease violence and respect the rights of citizens and free transit," while demanding that the authorities "control the safety of all."

Arequipa is one of the three regions of "high conflict" in which the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, declared a state of emergency on Sunday, to contain a wave of protests that has left two dead so far. Boluarte also proposed an electoral advance, in April 2024.