Guwahati News Desk: At least 68 prisoners were killed in a new fighting at an Ecuadorean prison on Friday.
The riot took place at the Litoral Penitentiary in the city of Guayaquil during the evening time on Friday.
As informed by the authorities, violence broke out as a result of a territorial dispute between rival groups, after a gang leader was released early.
In addition, inmates from one wing of the prison crawled through a hole to gain access to a different wing, where they attacked rival gang members.
The Governor of Guayas province, Pablo Arosemena, said, “As this section of the prison was without a ringleader, other gangs tried to… enter to carry out a total massacre.”
According to sources, the police tactical units who had entered the prison buildings discovered several guns, explosives and blades.
Moreover, hundreds of officers and army soldiers were deployed to regain control of the complex.
Meanwhile, the families and friends of prisoners desperate for information gathered outside the building, where a list with the names of the victims was taped to a post.
Expressing his grief, President Guillermo Lasso offered his condolences through a Twitter post, that read, “to the families who have lost loved ones” and said new measures were needed to “fight the mafias that profit from chaos”.
Furthermore, the latest event at the prison in Guayaquil has also left 25 people injured.