Ecuador teetered on the brink of chaos early today as rebellious police officers protesting against austerity measures blocked airports and roads, occupied the national assembly and besieged the president in a hospital after physically assaulting him.
The government called the revolt a coup and declared a one-week state of emergency which put the military in charge of public order and suspended civil liberties. Peru shut its border with Ecuador.
"This is a coup attempt," President Rafael Correa told state-run Ecuador TV from the hospital where, outside, civilian supporters confronted mutinous police amid scenes of near anarchy.
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