Chileans march against police repression during unrest

Hundreds ofChileansrallied Saturday night to protest what they callpolicerepressionduring three months of the worstsocialunrestsince democracy replaced the country's military dictatorship in 1990.

More than 1,000 people, many wearing black, marched in silence from Plaza Italia, ground zero of all the protests, along Alameda Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Chile's capital.

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Keeping quiet was their way of denouncing the security forces' use of tear gas, water cannon and birdshot, although the latter was barred in November because it was causing many injuries.

"We are marching because of the human rights violations we have suffered. We will be here as long as is needed. This is the new Chile," said asocialworker who gave her name only as Ana Maria.

Watch:Chilean protests turn violent as protesters show no sign of backing down

Theunrestbroke out over a metro fare rise but quickly grew into a broader outcryagainsteconomic andsocialinequality in what had been considered among the most stable countries in Latin America.

Watch: Violence at an all-time high in Chile

A total of 29 have died in violence related to the protests and nearly 3,700 were injured andmore than 400 with eye injuries from the birdshot fired bypolice, according to the National Human Rights Institute.

The protesters on Saturday night got close to the La Moneda presidential palace. They sang and shouted slogansagainstconservative President Sebastian Pinera, whose approval rating has dropped to single digits since the protests began in November.