At least five university students were injured Thursday and 40 others were arrested in clashes with police in Peru, during protests over the rise in the cost of living in the Andean city of Cusco, according to dpa. Students from the University of San Antonio Abad in Cusco, some 1,170 kilometres south-east of Lima, took over several public transport vehicles to block access to the university. Riot police used tear gas against protestors, and as they tried to bring the situation under control students threw stones at the officers, local radio stations reported. Christian Quispe, secretary general of the Federation of University Students, accused police of "provoking and attacking" protestors and blamed them for the violence. Quispe criticized the Peruvian government for the rise in the price of food and public transport. The authorities have blamed the price increases on outside factors. In Lima, hundreds of retired members of the armed forces and the police marched towards Congress Thursday to demand an increase in their pensions in line with the rise in the cost of living.
