Bolivian President Luis Arce has announced that an armed group has attacked three military barracks in the centre of the country and taken a number of soldiers hostage.

Armed supporters of former President Evo Morales attacked three barracks in the city of Cochabamba,’ Arce said in a post on the Xbox platform on Friday.

He strongly condemned the attack, noting that targeting military barracks anywhere in the world and taking soldiers and their families hostage is a crime of ‘betrayal of the homeland’.

Former President Morales condemned the seizure of the barracks and urged his supporters to remove roadblocks and avoid possible clashes with security forces.

Protesters have been blocking roads across the country for the past 19 days in protest at the issuance of an arrest warrant for former President Morales on 11 October.

The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of the current president and the cancellation of the arrest of his predecessor Morales.