Managua, May 13, 2018 (News Wires) - Nicaragua's army on Saturday called for an end to violence in the country and distanced itself from President Daniel Ortega, saying it was not repressing anyone for taking part in anti-government protests. Unrest against the president exploded in mid-April and has been fueled by a brutal response from police. The death toll is now at least 51. "We are the same uniformed people, working for their own benefit and, as a consequence, we call for stopping the violence and actions that destabilise us," an army statement said, expressing solidarity with the families of those who have died in the protests. "We have no reason to repress anyone" for anti-government demonstrations, army spokesman Manuel Guevara said earlier. "We think that dialogue is the answer," he stressed, adding that the military rejects what he sees as an effort to misconstrue military actions as repression on behalf of the Ortega government. Troops are required to protect strategic locations, national assets and national parks, for example. Initially triggered by reforms to cut spending on Nicaragua's deficit-laden social security system -- later abandoned by Ortega -- the protests swelled to include other grudges against the president who is widely seen as autocratic and distant.
