Quito, Ecuador ? The Ecuadorean government declared a state of emergency in four provinces Tuesday to curb nine days of Indian protests against a proposed free-trade deal with the United States.

Television images Tuesday showed riot police trying to clear rocks, tree trunks and burning tires from roadways north and south of Quito – in the Imbabura and Cotopaxi provinces – and firing tear gas to repel dozens of Indians, who responded by hurling stones. No serious injuries or arrests were immediately reported.

The state of emergency lifts constitutional rights to public assembly and gives police and the military broad powers to make arrests.

Police said they were determined to prevent a threatened “takeover” of the capital by the left-leaning Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, the nation’s largest Indian movement. As of late Tuesday, only 200 Indian protesters had arrived in Quito, camped out in a city park.