Protesters in southern Chile overturn and set fire to a police bus.<br/> <br />Ongoing demonstrations calling for increased social benefits in the city of Aysen turned violent, with police firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannon at protesters and residents.<br/> <br />One man says police burst into his house and beat him.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED AYSEN RESIDENT AND PROTESTER, SAYING:<br/> <br />"I thought they weren't going to come in here but four of them came in. They hit me with sticks and kicked me, flat-out kicks, nothing else but that, they were blows with their feet and they split my head open, my lip, everything."<br/> <br />Protests started in the Aysen region of Patagonia on February 17 and have triggered concurrent demonstrations in the capital Santiago.<br/> <br />Community and workers' organisations are demanding better health care, fuel subsidies, education, and other infrastructure improvements for the region.<br/> <br />Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
