Updated

Six people have been killed in Nicaragua by suspected paramilitary officers loyal to President Daniel Ortega amid ongoing talks aimed at ending weeks of unrest.

Nicaraguan Fire Chief Ramon Landero said in a statement that masked men threw Molotov cocktails into a three-story house Saturday morning, killing four adults and two children.

A survivor told a local news station that officers wanted to use the house as a sniper's perch.

Landero said assailants also attacked firefighters as they attempted to put out the blaze.

Negotiations between civil groups and Ortega representatives resumed Friday in an attempt to resolve the two-month-old political crisis.

More than 160 people have been killed since demonstrations against the government began in April.