Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Peru's Congress on Sunday demanded the release of former President Pedro Castillo. | Photo: EFE

Geneva, December 12 (RHC)-- The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Peru condemned on Sunday the death of the first two fatalities of the protests in the city of Andahuaylas, in the region of Apurimac.

After condemning the death of a minor and a young man, the UN mission in Peru called on the authorities to conduct a "prompt, impartial and thorough investigation of the facts, providing access to the families of the victims."

Before knowing the toll of victims, the office urged "calm" and respect for human rights, calling to avoid the escalation of tensions.  "We recall that the right to peaceful assembly must be guaranteed," reads a statement from the UN mission in Peru disseminated through social networks.

Upon confirmation of the deaths of the two protesters in Andahuaylas in the midst of the demonstrations in support of former president Pedro Castillo, President Dina Boluarte expressed her condolences to the families of the deceased.

The president called to stop the violence in a day of demonstrations against her government, for which they ask for early elections and the closing of the Congress.

In spite of the call for calm by the UN and President Boluarte, repression and confrontations have increased in the capital of the country, as well as in other regions.