QUITO, Ecuador (AP) 鈥� A riot in a penitentiary in coastal city of Guayaquil killed 24 inmates and injured 48 more Tuesday, Ecuadorian officials said.
A police and military operation managed to regain control of the Guayaquil Regional prison after five hours, according to a statement from Ecuador鈥檚 prison service.
Guayas state Gov. Pablo Arosemena said at a news conference outside the prison that order had been restored. 鈥淭he presence of the state and the law must be felt,鈥� he said.
The violence involved gunfire, knives and explosions and was caused by a dispute between the 鈥淟os Lobos鈥� and 鈥淟os Choneros鈥� prison gangs, officials said.
Television images showed inmates firing from the windows of the prison amid smoke and the detonation of firearms and explosives. The Guayas state government posted images on its Twitter account showing six cooks 小蓝视频 evacuated from one of the prison鈥檚 wings.
In July, President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency in Ecuador鈥檚 prison system following several violent episodes that resulted in more than 100 inmates 小蓝视频 killed.
The bloodiest day occurred in February, when 79 prisoners died in a simultaneous riot in three prisons in the country. In July, 22 more prisoners lost their lives in the Litoral penitentiary, while in September a penitentiary center was attacked by drones leaving no fatalities.
The Associated Press
