QUITO, Sept 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A protester was killed by Ecuadoran armed forces during a demonstration against increased fuel prices, the country's largest Indigenous organization said Sunday.

Efrain Fuerez was "shot three times" and died Sunday at the hospital in Cotacachi, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Quito, according to the organization, known by its acronym Conaie.

Ecuador's police and armed forces have not commented on the allegation.

President Daniel Noboa earlier this month announced a cut in the fuel subsidy that he said would save the state $1.1 billion.

The move saw the price of diesel soar from $1.80 to $2.80 per gallon (48 cents to 74 cents per liter) -- a bitter pill in a country where nearly a third of the population is poor.

"We hold Daniel Noboa responsible, we demand an immediate investigation and justice for Efrain and his community," said Conaie.

It described Fuerez as a "father of two children and pillar of his family."

Images shared by the group on social media show two men on the ground, one apparently injured and the other trying to help him. Seconds later, a group of soldiers gets out of a tank and kicks them.

Human rights group INREDH was the first to report the death, and condemned the "lethal and illegitimate use of force."

It said that another person remained in "critical condition."

Ecuador's prosecutors' office said it would open an investigation into the "alleged death."

Noboa has battled to defuse the protests, declaring on September 16 a state of emergency in eight of the country's 24 provinces, and a nighttime curfew in five of them.

He has claimed that Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is behind the demonstrations and warned that protesters who break the law "will be charged with terrorism and will go to prison for 30 years."

Conaie, which called for the indefinite national strike, led violent demonstrations that overthrew three presidents between 1997 and 2005.

Protesters have challenged Noboa's administration by blocking roads with barricades made of earth, stones, and logs, as well as directly confronting the authorities. Dozens have been detained.

Indigenous people represent almost eight percent of Ecuador's 17 million inhabitants, according to the latest census.

Community leaders say that number far underestimates their share of the population, maintaining that the true figure is closer to 25 percent.