Indigenous protesters in Ecuador have released the 27 soldiers they had held hostage in the country’s southern mountainous region.

Authorities said the hostage-takers on Thursday freed the 25 soldiers captured in addition to two other troopers who had earlier also been taken hostage by the indigenous protesters.

The soldiers’ captors had demanded the release of dozens of indigenous demonstrators who had been arrested in earlier protests.

It has not been confirmed whether the government agreed to the demands of the indigenous people in the province of Tungurahua, where they had captured the government troops.

Ecuador’s Defense Ministry says the indigenous Tungurahuans have been protesting against the government throughout the past week by setting up roadblocks in the region.

The indigenous protesters also staged a one-day demonstration in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.

The unrest over the past week left 105 police officers and a dozen government troops injured, according to the government.

The protesters demand greater rights over water resources and land, in addition to education reforms. Many indigenous people are also opposed to a package of constitutional amendments currently before Congress, which would allow President Rafael Correa to stand for re-election when his current term ends in 2017.

Correa is a leftist economist, who has been at the helm in Ecuador since 2007. In February 2013, he won an unprecedented third term in an election, and is widely regarded as the country’s most popular leader in recent history.

Much of his popularity in the country is attributed to his government’s huge public spending on the country’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, as well as education and medical care.