At least 18 injured in violence at Peru anti-government protests

Hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with police in Lima on Saturday, throwing stones and sticks as officers fired tear gas on the demonstrators, AFP journalists reported.

The protest, organized by the youth-led "Generation Z" collective, led to violent clashes with the police in the vicinity of the seats of government in the center of the Peruvian capital, an AFP team observed.

As night fell, the protesters -- joined by other groups also unhappy with President Dina Boluarte's administration -- confronted the police with stones and sticks.

Police used tear gas to prevent the march from advancing towards presidential and parliamentary buildings.

A new day of demonstrations is planned for Sunday.

Police initially reported three officers injured, but on Sunday raised the number of injured officers to 12.

The National Association of Journalists of Peru (ANP) also reported that six journalists were hit by pellets fired by police while covering the protest, including two from the Exitosa Noticias radio station.

Cesar Zamalloa, a photojournalist from the weekly newspaper "Hildebrandt En Sus Trece," said that the police "began firing pellets... directly at the bodies" of people.

"That's when I felt an impact on my leg and hip," he said, according to testimony collected by the ANP in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Sunday.

Both the union and the National Human Rights Coordinator in Peru denounced the police repression during the demonstrations.

Approval ratings for President Dina Boluarte, whose term ends next year, have plummeted amid rising extortion and organized crime cases.

Several opinion polls show the government and conservative-majority Congress are seen by many as corrupt institutions.

This week, the legislature passed a law requiring young adults to join a private pension fund, despite many facing a precarious working environment.