Peru prime minister to step down next week

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's prime minister said on Friday he planned to step down next week following criticism of the government's handling of violent Amazon protests in which at least 34 people died last month.

It was the first time premier Yehude Simon put a definite date on his resignation, which was first announced in mid-June, soon after the bloodshed gave President Alan Garcia his biggest political crisis since taking office in 2006.

Indigenous protesters and police died in the clashes, which flared during demonstrations against government plans for large-scale energy and mining projects deep in the rain forest.

The conflict has threatened to slow Garcia's push to lure billions of dollars in foreign investment in the resource-rich Andean nation.

Opposition parties blamed Simon for the violence and had called for him to quit but they failed to muster the necessary support this week in Congress when it voted on the prime minister's ouster.

Garcia has not yet indicated who he will pick to replace the head of his cabinet, although it is common for presidents to reshuffle ministers in late July.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Dana Ford; Editing by Bill Trott)