Strike halts several Dominican Republic cities, one teen dead

Santo Domingo.- Several cities in Dominican Republic’s north regions are shuttered Tuesday morning from a strike called yesterday ratified by a faction of the violent group Falpo, which has already claimed the life of a teenager shot dead in the town of Navarrete, Santiago province.

Most of the population at the northeaster city of San Francisco de Macorís stayed home on fears of violence from the 48-hour strike called from 6am Tuesday to early Thursday.

At Navarrete, the shooting victim was identified as Kendry Rodríguez, 13, who witnesses quoted by local media say was killed by gunfire from police agents on Duarte Av., while other media report that members of Falpo are to blame.

In the northern Cibao region the strikers demand the construction of road and other works.

The media also report gunfire heard in several towns and some makeshift bombs detonated Monday night.

"Shops, universities, schools and colleges are closed," newspaper Hoy reports, adding that traffic is null in San Francisco’s main avenues