UN chief condemns violence in Nicaragua

The Secretary-General welcomed the recent announcement on the establishment of a panel of experts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the violence and urged the Nicaraguan government to ensure protection and freedom of expression of peaceful demonstrators, said Farhan Haq, Guterres' deputy spokesman, in a statement on Friday, Xinhua reported.

The Secretary-General called on the government to favourably consider the requests of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the country, it said.

The United Nations is available to assist national dialogue efforts to strengthen the rule of law, respect for human rights and the peaceful resolution of differences, said the statement.

Fifteen people have died and dozens more have been injured in the latest protests against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, officials say.

Activists say pro-government forces opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters who marched through the capital Managua on Wednesday, BBC reported.

The government and police blamed "delinquent groups" for the violence.

More than 90 people have now died in the protests, which began in April and were triggered by social welfare cuts.

The cuts were later scrapped but the protests evolved into a rejection of the Ortega government and thousands of people have since taken to the streets.