UPDATE - Ecuador’s president orders curfew in capital Quito

UPDATES WITH CASUALTIES, DETENTIONS

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) – Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno on Saturday imposed curfew in the capital Quito amid violent protests, according to media reports.

Moreno said the curfew will start at 3 p.m. local time (2000GMT) to "facilitate the use of public force in the face of intolerable excess of violence," Venezuelan TV channel teleSur reported.

The president also ordered the militarization of Quito streets.

The decision came after protests over the government’s decision to scrap decades-old fuel subsidies as part of a reform package almost 10 days ago.

A nationwide strike by transport workers and taxi drivers against the elimination of the subsidies led to protests and violence.

At least six people died, 937 others were injured, and 1,121 people were arrested during protests, Defensoria del Pueblo, a government auditor, said on Twitter.

Moreno declared a two-month state of emergency on Oct. 3 and said his Cabinet was determined not to change the decision on "those perverse subsidies that were damaging the country."

Ecuador, a country straddling the equator on South America’s west coast, has seen numerous street protests in the past which forced the resignation of three presidents.