Managua: Nicaragua's government urged its opponents Monday to return to the negotiating table, after a night of clashes between police and protesters left five more people dead in the country's escalating crisis.
Residents described scenes of terror overnight in the flashpoint city of Masaya, which saw running battles all weekend pitting residents armed with home-made mortars and slingshots against what they said were paramilitary forces and riot police loyal to President Daniel Ortega.
More than 100 people have died in the violence sweeping Nicaragua since protests erupted on April 18 against Ortega, the man who has dominated the Central American country's politics for four decades.
The Catholic Church initially tried to mediate the conflict, but called off the talks after a crackdown on a march led by victims' mothers on Wednesday left another 16 people dead.
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