A humanitarian convoy led by Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa was attacked and 17 soldiers taken hostage on Sunday night, according to a government spokeswoman.

Carolina Jaramillo said the convoy – which included UN and EU diplomats – was delivering aid to affected communities during a national strike when ambushed by about 350 people, who attacked it with Molotov cocktails.

The country’s largest indigenous rights group leading a strike over fuel subsidy cuts said a member was shot dead by the armed forces during protests.

The UN Human Rights Council’s regional representative Jan Jarab called for an “urgent dialogue” after the acts of violence and a probe into the death and injuries.

Posting on X, Noboa showed photos of smashed windscreens and windows on the cars in his envoy.

“They resist Ecuador’s progress and chose violence,” Noboa said, referring to the armed protesters. “Ecuador cannot go backward.”

He said the Italian ambassador and top Vatican diplomat in Ecuador were travelling with him, alongside delegates from the UN and the EU.

Italy’s Ambassador to Quito Giovanni Davoli confirmed the incident. In a statement he said he was unharmed, adding he “strongly condemns this terrorist act directed against Ecuador’s head of state”.

According to Jaramillo, the convoy was delivering aid to affected communities during the national strike.

She added that 17 military personnel were kidnapped and their whereabouts is unknown.

The attack took place in Cotacachi, Imbabura province.

The Ecuadorian armed forces have accused protesters of injuring 12 soldiers and holding 17 others hostage.

The military accused the ambushers of being “terrorist groups”. Sharing graphic images of soldiers with blood on their faces, they warned “acts like these will not go unpunished”.

Jamarillo said the people responsible did not represent Ecuadorians but were criminals.

Violent clashes have broken out in Ecuador over a sharp rise in fuel prices.

The country’s largest indigenous rights organisation, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), had called for an indefinite national strike to protest against the president’s move to cut fuel subsidies.

Conaie said one indigenous community member, Efrain Fuerez, was shot three times and died in hospital in Cotacachi. They described his body as “riddled” with bullets in a post on X, calling it a “state crime, perpetrated under the orders of Daniel Noboa.”

“We demand truth, justice, and reparations,” the organisation added. In a separate post, Conaie denied that they were terrorists or criminals and said “the true terror is imposed by the government with its repression.”

Ecuador’s police and armed forces have not commented on the allegation of Fuerez’s death.

Ecuador’s prosecutors’ office said it would open an investigation into the “alleged death.”

A state of emergency has been announced in eight of the country’s 24 provinces, and a nighttime curfew in five of them.

President Noboa has claimed that the Venezuelan cartel Tren de Aragua was behind the demonstrations and warned protesters who break the law will be charged with “terrorism” and go to prison for 30 years.

Conaie have led demonstrations that overthrew three presidents between 1997 and 2005.