Six more die in Nicaraguan unrest

A masked protester shoots off his homemade mortar in Masaya on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Nicaraguan protesters have fired homemade mortars to fend off a police crackdown in new unrest that left at least six people dead, including a US citizen, as the opposition renewed calls for President Daniel Ortega's resignation.

In the city of Masaya, once a bastion of support for Ortega's leftist Sandinista movement, five people were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, according to the Nicaraguan Association for the Protection of Human Rights (ANPDH).

"The blood spilled in Masaya has made it a day of mourning and pain for those citizens who simply wanted to exercise their right to protest," said the head of the rights group, Alvaro Leiva, adding, "We are facing a situation of profound crisis in terms of human rights violations." A police intelligence officer was also among the victims, he said.

The police meanwhile reported looting, fires and riots in at least six cities, including Managua and Masaya, blaming "right-wing groups" - though in at least some of the cities, residents said the security forces themselves were responsible for the destruction.