BUENOS AIRES, September 19. /TASS/. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has imposed a curfew in five provinces and extended the state of emergency to eight regions because of violent protests against the abolition of diesel fuel subsidies, according to a decree was published on the website of the presidential administration.

"To impose restrictions on freedom of movement from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the following provinces: Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Chimborazo, Bolivar and Carchi," the document says.

On September 16, Noboa declared a state of emergency in seven provinces: Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Azuay, Bolivar, Cotopaxi and Santo Domingo. Chimborazo was added to them in the new decree.

The presidential administration also issued a statement saying that those who "resort to acts of terrorism, illegal blocking of roads and organized violence will be punished in accordance with the law. This is not repression, this is law enforcement. No one is above the law."

On September 12, Noboa abolished diesel fuel subsidies triggering a price rise from $1.8 to $2.8 per gallon (3.78 liters). Unions of transport workers in several provinces went on strikes.

In October 2019, Ecuador was gripped by protests and riots after the then-President Lenin Moreno abolished subsidies for diesel and gasoline and had to declare a state of emergency and later annul the decree. Noboa's predecessor Guillermo Lasso also faced protests over rising fuel prices.