Ecuadorian police detained another regional official Friday amid raging protests in the oil-rich Amazon provinces of Sucumbios and Orellana.

Provincial Governor Guillermo Munoz of Sucumbios, who is also the organizer of the protests, was detained, hours after Maximo Abad, mayor of Lago Agrio, capital of Sucumbios, was arrested on charges of "inciting public disorder."

Workers and locals in the Sucumbios and Orellana provinces launched protests last Sunday, demanding greater spending on infrastructure, larger share of oil profits for local governments, more jobs from foreign oil companies for local workers.

The demonstrators, including local government officials and lawmakers, took over two airports on Sunday and on Monday and they also blocked roads and began to sabotage oil facilities.

President Alfredo Palacio declared a state of emergency Wednesday while sending 3,000 police and soldiers into the provinces. The state-owned oil company Petroecuador suspended exports Thursday.

Officials said soldiers have regained control of some oil wells to allow Petroeduador to recover part of its production.

But Energy Minister Ivan Rodriguez said Friday the recovery of 30,000 barrels by the state oil company could hardly make up for its lost output of 201,000 barrels.

Private companies in the provinces also reported output losses of 328,000 barrels. President Palacio said Thursday that total losses to the state in August were 125 million US dollars, warning that the losses would rise dramatically if the production of crude was not restored.

Source: Xinhua