Ecuador President Noboa's Convoy Attacked Amid Fuel Protests, 17 Soldiers Kidnapped

A humanitarian convoy led by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa was violently attacked by approximately 350 armed protesters in Cotacachi, Imbabura province, as it delivered aid during a national strike over fuel subsidy cuts. The convoy included high-profile diplomats from the United Nations, European Union, the Vatican, and Italy, with no injuries reported among the diplomats. The attack involved Molotov cocktails and stones, resulting in 12 soldiers injured and 17 soldiers kidnapped, whose whereabouts remain unknown. The Ecuadorian Armed Forces labeled the attackers as "terrorist groups" and warned that such violence would not go unpunished, while Indigenous rights organization Conaie, leading the protests, denied responsibility for the violence and condemned government claims. President Noboa condemned the attack as resistance to Ecuador's progress and vowed that the country would not revert backward. The incident has intensified calls for urgent dialogue and investigations into the violence amid ongoing unrest triggered by the government's removal of fuel subsidies.