(Reuters) - Five soldiers have died after they tried to cross a river in Peru looking to escape from protests in a southern part the country, Peru's human rights watchdog said on Monday.
The members of Peruvian Army disappeared last Sunday whey they tried to cross a river in Peru's southern Puno region, where many of the protests calling for former president Pedro Castillo's release from prison and the resignation of his successor, Dina Boluarte, have taken place.
According to the Peruvian government, the soldiers were attacked by protesters when trying to reinforce military operations in the region. They then decided to take "an alternative route" by crossing a dangerous river and were swept away by the current.
Peru's joint command of the armed forces said the body of a soldier had been recovered on Sunday but it was not immediately clear if he was among the five mentioned by the human rights watchdog on Monday.
"We have requested the General Command of the Army and the Unified Command of Puno to thoroughly investigate the circumstances in which the deaths occurred," the watchdog said in a tweet.
Peru, the world's second largest copper-producing nation, has been facing extended protests resulting in dozens of deaths since Castillo was ousted early December.
(Reporting by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Sandra Maler)
