Clashes mark a month of protests in Colombia

Police clashed with protesters in Colombia on Friday as part of demonstrations in the country which have been ongoing for a month. In Madrid Cundinamarca, on the outskirts of the capital Bogota, police deployed water canon against demonstrators, who retaliated by throwing rocks.

The protesters, who were originally rallying against government reforms, have complained of police brutality and are demanding freedom to demonstrate.

In some parts of Colombia, protesters organized roadblocks that have led to fuel shortages, increased the price of food, and forced some factories to shut.

At least 40 people have been killed during the protests, dozens more have been reported as disappeared and thousands of civilians and police were wounded in the last month.

Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch say that the death toll since the protests began has risen to 55 and that in at least 15 cases, the alleged aggressors were police.

The Colombian government accepted Thursday a visit by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate.