A PANICKED President Ivan Duque called for a “national dialogue” today after three days of mass protests across Colombia against inequality and state and paramilitary violence.

Following a giant demonstration by hundreds of thousands of people in Bogota on Thursday, rallies continued, with crowds banging pots and pans outside Mr Duque’s residence and chanting: “Get out, Duque!” and “No violence!”

The state deployed 7,000 troops in the capital and tried to impose curfews there and in Cali for the first time in over 40 years. Three protesters have been killed so far and one teenager seriously injured when riot police charged a crowd and fired tear gas into it on Saturday. Mr Duque says he is ordering an urgent investigation into who was responsible for the young man’s injuries and claimed to be in “solidarity with his family.”

He has promised a week of meetings with “different social sectors” to address the people’s grievances. These include his government’s plans to raise the retirement age, increase pension contributions from employees, cut public spending and lower the minimum wage.

Outrage at paramilitary murders of social activists, trade unionists and former Farc guerillas – despite 2016’s peace agreement with the communist organisation – has also prompted protest, with a military attack on a rebel camp that killed 18 children cited by demonstrators. Art student Katheryn Martinez said: “This is a government that kills children.”

Another, Oscar Javier Diaz, said he was demonstrating against attacks on indigenous people and accused the government of imposing terror in response. He told al-Jazeera: “Imagine you're in your bed, calm and thinking nothing will happen, then you begin hearing the helicopters, the military trucks passing through the streets. You hear weapons, next screams, shots from the security forces.”