More Troops to Prevent
Looting in Peru
The Peruvian government
said that more troops
would be sent to the
earthquake-hit region of
Ica, where looting and
pillage marked the third
night of fear, chaos,
hunger and desperation.
At the same time, the
death toll increased to
496 on Saturday after
more bodies were found
under the debris,
although nonofficial
counts show 550 victims.
The civil defense system
reported that 33,200
families had lost their
homes.
Defense Minister Allan
Wagner said that another
600 soldiers would be
deployed in the cities
of Pisco, Ica, Chincha
and Cañete, where 400
troops are on patrol.
The police said that it
would send more agents
to the region as well.
The reinforcements were
announced after
President Alan Garcia
said on Friday night
that the State would not
allow crime, and would
keep order in the
affected areas, where
the head of State
arrived on Thursday to
command the emergency
operations.
As the president was
speaking, groups of
delinquents were
assaulting shops, houses
and even a hospital in
Chincha, from where they
took medical equipment
and drugs.
The situation has
worsened in Chincha,
where an undetermined
number of prisoners,
most of whom have been
captured, escaped from
the local jail when the
wall surrounding the
facility collapsed
during the earthquake.
The situation is worse
because people are
desperate due to food
and water shortages, so
they have assaulted
trucks and aid
distribution centers.
Congressman Edgar Nuñez,
of the governing Aprista
Party, who lost several
relatives in Pisco, said
food distribution there,
the most affected city,
is inefficient.
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