Indigenous people in Ecuador report three dead and injured after clash with military

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), the country's largest social organization, reported on Saturday the deaths of three people and several injuries after an encounter with military personnel in the Amazonian province of Sucumbíos. The confrontation took place in the Cascales municipality, home to the Shuar Taruka and Etsa communities, and the organization expressed its "deep concern and pain" over the events.

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We express our solidarity with their families, with the injured people, and with the Shuar Taruka and Etsa communities, who today live moments of pain, uncertainty, and mourning.

The deceased have been identified as brothers Antonio and Edgar Sharup, and Rolando Chumpi. Conaie stated, "We express our solidarity with their families, with the injured people, and with the Shuar Taruka and Etsa communities, who today live moments of pain, uncertainty, and mourning." The organization has demanded that the Prosecutor's Office open an "immediate and impartial" investigation to clarify what happened, determine if "protocols on the progressive and proportional use of force" were respected, and "establish the corresponding responsibilities."

According to testimonies gathered by Conaie in the territory, the events occurred during a "large-scale military operation" involving helicopters and deployed military personnel. The communities also reported the presence of ammunition, cartridges, and other material evidence that "must be incorporated into a serious, independent, and transparent investigation." The statement continued, "The State has the obligation to combat violence and organized crime, but also to guarantee the rights and protection of the populations inhabiting the Amazonian territories."

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The State has the obligation to combat violence and organized crime, but also to guarantee the rights and the protection of the populations that inhabit the Amazonian territories.

The denunciation came a day after the Ecuadorian Army reported that two soldiers were injured in an armed confrontation with a group of "armed civilians" in an illegal mining area located in Sucumbíos. The military institution stated that soldiers were patrolling the Taruka sector, during operations within the framework of the "internal armed conflict" declared by the government against criminal gangs in January 2024, when they were shot at by civilian groups. "In strict compliance with the legitimate and progressive use of force, military personnel repelled the attack," they detailed, adding that "there were deceased and injured persons within the armed group," without specifying the exact number of victims.

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In strict compliance with the legitimate and progressive use of force, the military personnel repelled the attack.