At least two civilians died and a policeman was shot during a confrontation between the security forces and protesters in the city of Cali, the epicenter of the social outbreak that leaves at least 61 dead in more than a month of protests in Colombia.

According to authorities, the incident occurred on Friday night, when a group of policemen was attacked with firearms by people who tried to block one of the accesses to the third city in the country.

"A policeman is wounded (by a bullet) in the leg (...) they proceed to repel this attack and at dawn they confirm the death of two citizens there," reported the Cali police commander, General Juan León.

The uniformed man did not report the identities of the victims or those responsible for their death. Three other civilians were injured, one of them from a gunshot, León added. Videos posted on social media show protesters crouching while gunfire erupts.

In a Twitter message, Defense Minister Diego Molano rejected "the violence that left 4 police officers injured, one of them with a firearm" and released a video showing several civilians firing from the barricades at the uniformed.

The confrontation took place in an area known as Paso del Comercio, where protesters have held a blockade since April 28, when crowds took to the streets to protest against a now-withdrawn bill to raise taxes on the middle class.

What began with a protest against taxes ended in a movement that demands police reform and a more supportive state to deal with the economic ravages of the pandemic, which this week broke records for deaths and infections.

On Friday morning authorities opened the way on this road, but during the day the protesters returned to retake the blockade.

"The police are preventing them from taking the road again, preventing them from setting up barricades," said León, adding that at this moment the passage is "totally unblocked."

- Deaths and blockades -

With these deaths, the total number of fatalities during the protests reaches 61 (59 of them civilians), according to a count carried out by AFP from official sources. The Colombian Prosecutor's Office maintains that 20 of these deaths are related to the protests.

For its part, the NGO Human Rights Watch claims to have "credible complaints" about 67 deaths that have occurred since the protests began. The organization has confirmed that 32 of these cases "are related to the demonstrations."

According to the Ministry of Defense, there are 45 roadblocks in the country today. These closures have become a source of discord between the government and the most visible sector of the protest, who have been in dialogue for several weeks without reaching agreements.

The government demands that the so-called National Unemployment Committee condemn these blockades, to which it attributes the death of two babies trapped in ambulances and millions in losses.

For its part, the Committee demands "guarantees for the protest" and that President Iván Duque apologize for the excesses of the police, exposed by a cascade of amateur videos.

The parties will return to sit at the table this Sunday.