Hundreds of protesting Bolivian miners clash with police

Hundreds of miners protesting their work conditions have clashed with police in the Bolivian capital of Sucre.

Authorities said 44 people were arrested and one officer was injured in clashes in the capital on Wednesday.

The government said a police officer was taken to a hospital after being hit in the head by the protesters.

The miners had come from the southern city of Potosi to Sucre, which is located in the central part of the country.

They were there to demand that the central government put more money into public projects.

The miners threw rocks at the windows of the Ministry of Government in the capital during their rally. The protesters also tossed small dynamite charges at police after officers used tear gas on them, reports said.

The German embassy in the area was slightly damaged in an explosion set off by a lit stick of dynamite thrown by the protesters at the rally.

No one was harmed in the explosion, according to the Germany embassy in Bolivia.

For the past 16 days, access to the city of Potosi, where more than 130,000 people reside, has been blocked by thousands of protesters as part of an ongoing strike.

The protesters are mostly miners, who are in a dispute with the government over infrastructure investment.

The mines of Potosi were a source of huge riches for Spain until the end of colonial rule in the 19th century.