The state of alert in Ecuador has been extended after police protests against Government plans to cut their bonuses.
The police have now been replaced by army soldiers as the force with the responsibility of protecting the country’s congress.
Angry police officers took to the streets last Thursday, burning tyres in Quito and holding President Rafael Correa in a hospital for hours until he was rescued by army commandos in a hail of gunfire.
Mr Correa, a leftist allied with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, called the incident a coup attempt.
‘Due to the lamentable events of 30 September,’ a letter from Congress to the defence ministry said, ‘we ask you to transfer the security of the legislature to the military.’
The state of alert was due, expected to expire at midnight tonight, but was extended until Friday by a fresh presidential order.
Mr Correa has majority support in Ecuador's 124-member Congress. But his legislative agenda has been deadlocked by disagreements within his coalition over bills that have drawn public criticism, such as proposals to reform state finances and the higher education system.
