Sharjah 24 – AFP: Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in three provinces late Friday in response to sometimes violent protests by Indigenous groups demanding cuts in fuel prices.
Oil producer Ecuador has been hit by rising inflation, unemployment and poverty exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Demonstrators from the country's Indigenous community -- which makes up over a million of Ecuador's 17.7 million inhabitants -- launched an open-ended anti-government protest this week that has since been joined by students, workers and others.
The demonstrations have blocked roads across the country, including highways leading into the capital Quito.
Clashes with security forces during the protests have left at least 43 people injured, and 37 have been arrested.
In response, Lasso's decree Friday -- which covers Quito -- enables the president to mobilise the armed forces to maintain order, suspend civil rights and declare curfews.
"I am committed to defending our capital and our country," Lasso said on television.
"I called for dialogue and the response was more violence. There is no intention to seek solutions."
The demonstrations have largely been concentrated in the northern region of Pichincha and neighboring Cotopaxi and Imbabura.
With spears in hand, Indigenous Amazonians this week temporarily occupied local government headquarters in the provinces of Pastaza and Morona Santiago.
The country's armed forces on Twitter condemned "the violent actions carried out by protesters" in Pastaza, saying one person had been left with "fractures and multiple injuries."
In Quito, nearly 1,000 protesters tried to tear down metal fences that surround the presidential headquarters.
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