Protests riot on 49th anniversary of Pinochet coup in Chile

The 49th anniversary of the coup in Chile, which overthrew the socialist Salvador Allende and gave rise to dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, was marked by violent clashes between protesters and police in Santiago, condemned by leftist President Gabriel Boric.

Hundreds of people participated in a march in the Chilean capital to honour the victims of Pinochet's military regime (1973-1990).

During the tour, from the presidential palace of La Moneda, in the Centre, to the Memorial to the Detained, Disappeared and Politically Executed, in the General Cemetery of the capital, isolated groups of hooded men clashed with riot police agents.

In addition, they produced Looting of commercial premises, launching of Molotov cocktails and the burning of a municipal vehicle which the police repressed with water cannons and tear gas.

The riots continued among the tombs in the Cemetery, while the tributes to the victims of the dictatorship continued amid tear gas.

Earlier in the day, President of Chile, Boric announced the launch of the search plan for detainees who disappeared during the dictatorship.

“Our commitment is  to continue searching tirelessly for the disappeared detainees, 1,192 disappeared detainees who still do not know where they are. It is not acceptable, it is not tolerable, we cannot naturalise it,” said the president.