REPORT: Violence erupts as Chile marks 40th anniversary of Pinochet coup

Protesters clashed with police in Chile overnight, setting fire to cars and a police building, on the 40th anniversary of the country's military coup.

Police arrested 13 people early on Wednesday and said an officer was injured in the clashes.

In Santiago, riot police fired tear gas canisters and later deployed a water cannon to control the protesters.

A police helicopter was also sent out.

Chilean television footage also showed a police building on fire and charred vehicles in Valparaiso.

The anniversary of the 1973 coup that brought the dictator Augusto Pinochet to power is often marked by violence.

Pinochet oversaw a fierce aerial bombardment of the presidential palace on September 11, 1973.

Socialist President Salvador Allende committed suicide rather than surrender.

His death marked the start of a brutal 17-year dictatorship.

The government estimates 3,095 were killed during Pinochet's rule, including about 1,200 who were forcibly disappeared.

Pinochet died under house arrest, without ever being tried on charges of illegal enrichment and human rights violations.


AP


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