- Title: Ecuador imposes Quito curfew as violent protests roil capital
- Date: 12th October 2019
- Summary: QUITO, ECUADOR (OCTOBER 12, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SMOKE BILLOWING OUT OF BUILDING
- Embargoed: 27th October 2019 00:50
- Keywords: Ecuador Quito protests austerity curfew security President Lenin Moreno
- Location: QUITO, ECUADOR
- City: QUITO, ECUADOR
- Country: Ecuador
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA003B0SKW93
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ecuador announced a curfew over the capital Quito on Saturday (October 12), with no letup in protest violence against austerity measured that has rocked the Andean nation.
The highland capital of Quito was rocked by a 10th day of clashes over President Lenin Moreno's austerity plan. Moreno has ordered a military-backed curfew in Quito and surrounding valleys starting at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT), blaming the violence on extremists whom he said had infiltrated protests.
Before the curfew was imposed, downtown Quito resembled a war zone as plumes of tear gas clouded streets littered with bricks. Small fires burned and groups of people huddled behind walls and makeshift barricades for protection.
Five people have been killed in the unrest since it began on Oct. 3, according to reports. More than a 1,100 people have been arrested and nearly 1,000 wounded.
Protesters have taken aim at the IMF and Moreno's turn to the right since being elected in 2017 as the left-leaning successor to Rafael Correa.
Moreno moved his government base from Quito to the coastal city of Guayaquil earlier this week to escape the violence.
(Production: Ignacio Munoz, Cristina Munoz, Paul Vieira) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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