Police Detain Demonstrators in Chile

Police in Chile detained a large number of the demonstrators on the 21st day of the protests.

Districts in the Chilean capital of Santiago have been turned into battlefields due to the clashes between protesters and police in recent days.

The 20-day-old Chilean protests have reached the wealthy neighborhoods of the Chilean capital, Santiago.

Hundreds of angry demonstrators marched towards the Costanera Center, South America's largest shopping mall and the icon of Chilean economic progress, the Spanish daily newspaper ABC reported.

Thousands of protesters took part in new protests, this week, in Chile despite the replacement of eight key ministers by President Sebastián Piñera and his attempts to assure the country that he heard calls for greater equality and improved social services.

The new protests led to clashes between protesters and security forces.

Last week, violent clashes erupted between the protesters and the security forces in central Santiago a few hours after Chilean President Piñera unveiled a major cabinet reshuffle.

The clashes broke out at the presidential palace and the “Piazza Italia”, which has become a center of protest since the social protest movement began.

Local media reported that the clashes broke out in Valparaiso and Concepción, while  the Chilean president announced  a cabinet reshuffle, replacing ministers of Interior, Economy and Finance, in an attempt to calm the angry protesters.

The anger,  that have since expanded and turned into violent demonstrations and looting, erupted after the announcement of 3.75 percent increase in fees for the Santiago metro tickets .