![\"Riot](\"https:\/\/cdn.i-scmp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/1200x800\/public\/d8\/images\/methode\/2019\/11\/18\/c2abff44-09ad-11ea-afcd-7b308be3ba45_image_hires_111532.jpg?itok=SBSwsk_d&v=1574046941\")
<\/p>\n![\"Felipe](\"https:\/\/cdn.i-scmp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/methode\/2019\/11\/18\/d2a23490-09ad-11ea-afcd-7b308be3ba45_1320x770_111532.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\u201cThere will be no impunity, not for those who committed acts of unusual violence, nor for those who committed excesses and abuses. We will do what is best for the victims,\u201d Pinera said, referring to protesters first and then the security forces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The massive demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, but it\u2019s common to see hooded protesters infiltrate the gatherings, hurling rocks, raising barricades and confronting police, who clamp down with violence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Last week, Chile\u2019s main medical body said at least 230 people had lost sight after being shot in an eye with lead or rubber projectiles while participating in demonstrations. Of those, at least 50 people will need prosthetic eyes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe are facing a real health crisis,\u201d said Dr Patricio Meza, vice-president of the Medical College of Chile.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Police](\"https:\/\/cdn.i-scmp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/methode\/2019\/11\/18\/e23404f6-09ad-11ea-afcd-7b308be3ba45_1320x770_111532.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\u201cIn three weeks, we have had the highest number of cases involving serious ocular complications due to shots in the eye.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
At demonstrations, it\u2019s common to see police firing pellet guns at crowds. Often, \u201cthey\u2019re firing at 90 degrees, which is to say, directly at the face,\u201d Meza said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He said most of the injured say it\u2019s the national police force \u2013 known as the Carabineros<\/em> \u2013 who are the ones firing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Police have also been accused of stopping rescuers helping a dying protester.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Chile\u2019s independent human rights watchdog said it would file a formal complaint for murder against police officers who allegedly prevented paramedics from attending a heart attack victim amid a protest last Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Security forces firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons made it impossible for rescuers to properly treat the victim, Chile\u2019s publicly-funded National Institute for Human Rights said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Twenty-nine year old Abel Acuna died shortly after at a nearby Santiago hospital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Demonstrators](\"https:\/\/cdn.i-scmp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/methode\/2019\/11\/18\/9299d344-09ad-11ea-afcd-7b308be3ba45_1320x770_111532.jpg\")
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