Bolivia declares martial law to quell bloody protests

BOLIVIA yesterday declared martial law in the city of El Alto to quell bloody protests in which 16 people were killed following a proposal to export gas to the United States and Mexico.

Roman Catholic priest Asensio Mamani said he saw three people killed in the clashes in his neighbourhood, Senakata, on Sunday. Another priest, Modesto Chino, said two demonstrators were also killed in the Ballivian neighbourhood.

Those deaths would bring the total killed to 16 in El Alto since the clashes began. The government earlier reported that 11 people had been killed.