By Tim Rogers and Blake Schmidt

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Nicaragua’s capital was again terrorized by political violence yesterday afternoon when hundreds of Sandinista loyalists – who were joined by leftist sympathizers from El Salvador – turned Managua into an urban battle zone by taking over the city, blocking traffic, shooting explosives and attacking the opposition – including members of the news media.

Downtown businesses were once again forced to close early, some of them boarding their windows in anticipation of violence, as Sandinista fanatics – many of them masked and armed with bats, rocks, machetes and guns – congregated in various sectors of the city to prepare for battle against opposition members who had announced a march to support Liberal Party candidate Eduardo Montealegre, who claims victory in the Nov. 9 municipal election in Managua.

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The planned march by the PLC party, to proclaim fraud over the recent municipal elections was abandoned when rival factions from the FSLN ruling party blocked the route with buses and gangs of hooded youths with mortars and various other weapons.

Hundreds of Sandinista armed with homemade mortars, stones and sticks surrounded a group of liberals, among them was the candidate for mayor of Managua, Eduardo Montealegre, who had to be removed by riot to prevent being assaulted by the mob.

The siege of the marchers, which also involved politicians, intellectuals and civil society leaders, was maintained for about two hours in the western sector of the capital, until the opponents decided to withdraw.

Fighting broke out in various parts of the capital also, with the media once again a target of the FSLN.

One of the journalist covering the events, Ivan Olivares was stabbed with a bayonet and taken to the hospital for stitches.

Olivares later made a call to President Daniel Ortega not to incite further violence, stressing that journalists are becoming the targets of violence from the groups allied to his government.

In two other seperate events media crews from local channels 2 and 8 had their vehicles ransacked and destroyed.

This is the second time in three days the FSLN supporters have refused to let the opposition express their solidarity in the form of a protest march.

In what can only be described as a political war, the capital city of Managua will today become a battleground for rival supporters.

A caravan of about 40 buses filled with FSLN supporters, armed with home made mortars and various other weapons, made it’s way from the northern part of the country toward the capital this morning.

At the same time a similar amount of PLC supporters converged on the capital for their announced peaceful protest march over the recent municipal election results.

The Sandinistas will be trying to block the route of the march with buses and have many supporters at every roundabout in the Capital.

The same tactics were used Sunday in Leon where a protest march there, was unable to proceed and a pitch battle ensued with several casualties.

In Leon the police were either unable or refused to get involved in the situation and chaos prevailed.

Former US baseball star Cal Ripkin JR was forced to cancel his baseball clinic in Leon and the once in a lifetime opportunity for Nicaragua’s baseball youth was lost.

With no government intervention other than the police to allow the peaceful march, Nicaragua is faced with another sad day in its history of political unrest.

Tourist are advised to avoid the capital at all cost today.

Managua, Nicaragua - Nicaragua’s capital was bracing for large demonstrations Tuesday by the ruling Sandinista party and the opposition after supporters of President Daniel Ortega blocked an important highway through Managua, forcing opposition leaders to seek refuge in a church.

- A standoff between supporters of Nicaragua’s governing party and opponents wounded eight on the outskirts of the capital Sunday as conflict over alleged voter fraud turned violent.

One partisan from each side was shot and six police officers were injured by tossed rocks and fireworks, national police spokeswoman Vilma Reyes said.

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MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Nov. 15 — Full Story">Cal Ripken Jr. could have guessed it was going to be “a real interesting trip,” as he diplomatically put it, when the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua decided it was too dangerous for the baseball Hall of Famer to stay as planned at the Intercontinental hotel in the capital. The night before his arrival, a mob of club-wielding Full Story">Sandinista supporters had smashed windows at the mall next door, part of ongoing violence here since contested elections.

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THROUGH MUCH of the 1980s, the United States waged a proxy war to prevent Full Story">Daniel Ortega and his Full Story">Sandinista party from consolidating a dictatorship in Nicaragua. In 1990, Mr. Ortega finally agreed to hold a presidential election, which he lost; since then Central America’s poorest country has struggled to build a functioning democracy. Now Mr. Ortega is back and once again is seeking autocratic power. This time, however, neither the United States nor other outside powers are doing much to stop him.

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NICARAGUA may be a small country but it is an emblematic one. In 1979 the leftist Sandinista movement overthrew a corrupt dictatorship. In response, the United States organised the Contra guerrillas. In 1990 the Sandinistas agreed to hold free elections, which they lost. But their leader, Daniel Ortega, has returned to power, having won a presidential election in 2006 against a divided opposition. Now, armed with an alliance with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, he seems determined to snuff out Nicaragua’s young democracy.

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By Tim Rogers. The last time rival political forces fought one another street by street for control of the Nicaraguan capital was three decades ago, in July 1979, at the culmination of the Sandinista insurrection that overthrew the Somoza dictatorship. This week, the streets of Managua were once again aflame amid the boom of mortar rounds, as the Sandinistas and their rivals battled for control — but it was the Full Story" target="_new">erstwhile revolutionary movement that now stands Full Story" target="_new">accused of being a dictatorship.

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