23,000 refugees have fled violence in Nicaragua

William Spindler,UNHCR spokesman, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday thatan average of 200 asylum applications are being lodged every day in Costa Rica."Besides the 8,000 who have filed asylum claims, and the 15,000 who are waiting to do so, thousands more have arrived in Costa Rica but have not yet contacted authorities there," added Splinter.Panama, Mexico and the United States also saw a rise in claims by Nicaraguans in the first half of this year, but the numbers in these countries are still in the low hundreds, according to the UNHCR.

We call for all human rights to be respected so there are no acts of violence, and above all so that all this can be resolved through peaceful means and dialogue, said Christian Guillermet, Costa Ricas director of foreign policy, on Thursday. He questioned the closure of four private television channels on Thursday as they reported on the protests. (Three of the four returned to the air on Friday.)Curtailing freedom of expression doesnt contribute [to a positive resolution], so we call on the government of Nicaragua to reconsider the closure of some media, Guillermet said.