| Carried over to Friday. AoS. |
ECUADOR was plunged into crisis overnight as troops seized the main airport and police stormed the Congress, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency and denounce an attempted coup. About 150 renegade troops seized a runway at Ecuador's international airport in the capital of the South American nation, as dozens of police protested against a new law which would strip them of some pay bonuses.
President Rafael Correa, 47, a leftist ally of his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, swiftly denounced what he called a coup bid, and sought refuge in a hospital after failing to calm tensions in an occupied barracks.
"It is a coup attempt led by the opposition and certain sections of the armed forces and the police," Mr Correa, who has governed the country since 2007, told local television. "If anything happens to me, they will be responsible," he said, blaming sections of the opposition and troops loyal to former president Lucio Gutierrez for the unrest.
As tear gas was used on the streets of the capital to try to beat back crowds of police protesters, the government declared a state of emergency.
Security Minister Miguel Carvajal said the armed forces "have received instructions to maintain public order and guarantee the rights of citizens". He said that "not all the police are in insubordination" despite the wave of unrest.
Dozens of police units took over government buildings in the country's other two main cities, Guayaquil and Cuenca, and Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino blamed the insurrection on "sectors aiming to overthrow the government". |