Three people have died and nearly a hundred have been injured since the start of indigenous protests in Ecuador eleven days ago, according to a latest report established Thursday by a coalition of human rights organizations.
Latest victim: in the Andean city of Tarqui (south), clashes between police and demonstrators left one dead on Wednesday, says this report by the Alliance of Human Rights Organizations.
A tear gas canister was found near the body. of the victim, a 38-year-old man, the same source said.
However, police said the man died of a liver cirrhosis in the context of the demonstrations.
Two other people were killed on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Alliance, which reported 92 injuries and 94 arrests since June 13.
According to the police, 117 soldiers and servicemen were injured.
Nearly 14,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country to protest against the rising cost of living and to demand a drop in fuel prices in particular, according to the police, who estimate their number at nearly 10,000 in the capital Quito.
While some of these marches are relatively calm and festive, violence often breaks out in the dark. The capital is partly paralyzed.
On Wednesday, some 300 people seized control of a major power station in the southern Andean province of Tungurahua, but no serious damage or service interruptions were reported.
Prior to any negotiation, the Aboriginal peoples demand the repeal of the state of emergency in force in six of the 24 provinces and in the capital, supported by a major security deployment and a night curfew.
The government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso for its part rejects this demand and assures that the demands of the demonstrators, just on fuel, would cost the State more than a billion dollars a year.
France Media Agency
Source: Radio-Canada
