MANAGUA – Supporters of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega tried to storm a church on Thursday as tension ratchets up between Roman Catholics and the government in the Central American country.
Footage posted on social media showed protesters pressing against the barricaded door of the San Juan Bautista parish church in the western city of Masaya. Parishioners had gathered for Mass in support of mothers in Masaya’s cathedral who were on a hunger strike.
The mothers were demanding the release of their children, detained by authorities for their part in the anti-government protests.
The Ortega supporters ultimately forced their way in to the church, according to the priest, prompting him to plead with the group to let his parishioners go home safely.
Earlier this week, the Church accused groups linked to the government of beating a priest and violently taking control of the cathedral in capital Managua.(Reuters)
