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Masaya (Nicaragua) (AFP)

Pope Francis called Sunday for dialogue in Nicaragua after new clashes killed at least six people, the latest bloodshed in seven weeks of anti-government protests that have left more than 100 dead.

The Church has tried to mediate the escalating crisis in the Central American country, but called off peace talks with President Daniel Ortega's government last week after a Mother's Day march in support of victims' moms was met with gunfire, killing at least 16 people.

Violence again erupted Saturday, as protesters fired home-made mortars to fend off a police crack-down in the city of Masaya, near the capital, Managua.

The new unrest left at least six people dead, including a US citizen reportedly killed by a pro-government mob in a separate incident in Managua.

"I am united with my brother bishops in Nicaragua and their grief over violence committed by armed groups," the pope said after leading the traditional Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican.

"The Church is always in favor of dialogue, but for that it requires an active commitment to respect for freedom and, above all, life," said the Argentine pontiff.

- Church caught in crossfire -

The Nicaraguan Bishops' Conference aborted its attempt to mediate the conflict after the deadly crackdown on last Wednesday's march, saying dialogue was impossible as long as "the people continue to be repressed and killed" by "groups close to the government."

The Catholic Church has found itself increasingly caught up in the conflict.

On Saturday, Silvio Jose Baez, the auxiliary bishop of Managua, warned residents of flashpoint city Masaya to stay indoors over reports of pro-government snipers shooting at people in the street.

A church in central Masaya later opened its doors to give refuge and medical care to 21 residents who had been detained and reportedly abused by the police.

The Nicaraguan Association for the Protection of Human Rights (ANPDH), which helped obtain their release, said it would be lodging a complaint over the case with the authorities in Managua.

- Cardinal emeritus dies -

Ortega, the man who has dominated Nicaraguan politics for the past four decades, had been seen as close to the Church in recent years.

One of his key allies, cardinal emeritus Miguel Obando, died Sunday at age 92, the Church announced.

Obando and Ortega had a love-hate-love relationship stretching back to the 1970s.

Obando, like the president, was a sharp critic of the dictator Anastasio Somoza, who was ousted by Ortega's Sandinista guerrilla army in 1979.

He later turned his criticism on the newly installed Sandinista junta led by Ortega, criticizing its communist ideology, alleged human rights violations and vision of a "people's church" based on leftist liberation theology.

But as Ortega -- who lost the presidency in a 1990 election -- charted his eventual return to power in 2007, he went out of his way to court the cardinal's favor with a mix of progressive social policy and support for a total abortion ban.

Obando even presided over Ortega's wedding to his wife and current vice president, Rosario Murillo, in 2005.

- Home-made mortars and slingshots -

But the Catholic Church has distanced itself from Ortega's government since the bloody protest crack-down started on April 18.

The church in Masaya has sheltered opposition supporters from attacks by riot police and pro-government paramilitaries, and church bells are the warning cry residents use to summon volunteers to fight back Ortega's forces with home-made mortars, rocks and slingshots.

Once a bastion of support for the Sandinistas, the city of just over 100,000 people looked like a war zone Sunday.

Residents have put up barricades to keep out riot police and protect themselves from what they say are police and paramilitary snipers positioned around a central neighborhood.

The five people killed in clashes in the city on Saturday included a 15-year-old boy, according to ANPDH.

"The blood spilled in Masaya has made it a day of mourning and pain for those citizens who simply wanted to exercise their right to protest," said the head of the Nicaraguan rights group, Alvaro Leiva.

Ortega, whose third consecutive term is due to end in 2022, denies his forces are killing protesters. His government accuses "right-wing groups" of conspiring to "terrorize" the country.

© 2018 AFP