- Title: Protesters clash with police in Quito in anti-austerity conflict
- Date: 11th October 2019
- Summary: QUITO, ECUADOR (OCTOBER 11, 2019) (REUTERS) ANTI- POLICE FIRING WEAPON AT PROTESTERS, MOLOTOV LANDS NEXT TO HIM, RUNS BACK TO LARGER GROUP OF ANTI-RIOT POLICE LARGER GROUP OF PROTESTERS COMING UP STREET AND TURNS CORNER, ANTI-RIOT POLICE HUDDLED IN THE BACKGROUND, TEAR GAS WAFTING IN THE AIR GROUP OF ANTI-RIOT POLICE TRYING TO ADVANCE, PROTESTERS RUNNING UP AND THROWING ROCKS GROUP OF ANTI-RIOT POLICE HUDDLED BEHIND SHIELDS, ROCKS AND STICKS BEING THROWN, POLICE RETREAT ANOTHER GROUP OF ANTI-RIOT POLICE RUNNING UP STREET WHILE HIDING BEHIND SHIELDS, TRYING TO ADVANCE ON LARGE CROWD OF PROTESTERS ANTI-RIOT POLICE TRUCK ADVANCING TOWARDS GROUP OF PROTESTERS, TURNS AROUND AND RETURNS, CROWD OF PROTESTERS RETURNING TO ORIGINAL SPOT AND THROWING ROCKS PROTESTERS THROWING ROCKS AT ANTI-RIOT POLICE WHO HIDE BEHIND SHIELDS AND BEGIN ADVANCING TOWARDS THEM GROUP OF PROTESTERS HIDING BEHIND MAKESHIFT SHIELDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY, THROWING ROCKS AND STICKS AS THEY TRY TO ADVANCE TOWARDS POLICE GENERAL VIEW OF TEAR GAS FILLING UP THE AIR, PITCHED BATTLE BETWEEN ANTI-RIOT POLICE AND PROTESTERS
- Embargoed: 25th October 2019 17:17
- Keywords: Ecuador clashes crisis indigenous fuel violence
- Location: QUITO, ECUADOR
- City: QUITO, ECUADOR
- Country: Ecuador
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0NMZIF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: LIVE U QUALITY. PLEASE MONITOR FOR UPDATES
Indigenous protesters, some armed with spears, clashed with Ecuadorean police on Friday (October 11) as anti-austerity protests continue to rock President Lenin Moreno's government.
Anti-riot police used tear gas as well as rocks against the protesters who kicked off a pitched battle in Quito.
The unrest is the latest flashpoint in Latin America over unpopular structural economic reforms. Argentine President Mauricio Macri was trounced in an August primary vote amid stiff opposition to an IMF deal he signed last year.
Since last week, security forces in Ecuador have turned tear gas and water cannons on protesters who have set up burning barricades and hurled stones at police lines.
Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo apologised after police fired tear gas in safe areas for protesters. She said authorities have faced extreme violence from some, including about 600 people whom she said swarmed a military barracks late on Wednesday, wounding several military officers.
The unrest has already slashed the Andean nation's oil production by 520,000 barrels and forced the government to relocate to the coastal city of Guayaquil.
More than 900 people have been arrested, though most have been released due to lack of evidence, according to the office of the ombudsman, a state institution that monitors conflicts.
More than 500 have been wounded, it said.
The Red Cross in Ecuador said the violence was so bad it had depleted its blood bank. It called on Twitter for donations.
(Production: Alberto Fajardo, Guillermo Garcia) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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