More attacks in Ecuador prison where riot left 68 dead

Soldiers stand guard outside the Guayas 1 prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, after a riot occurred, on Nov 13, 2021. PHOTO: AFP

GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR (AFP) - Inmates who staged a riot that left at least 68 dead at a prison in Ecuador are attacking each other again, a spokesman for the President said on Saturday evening (Nov 13).

"The government must report that new incidents are now occurring" in the prison in Guayaquil, spokesman Carlos Jijon said.

Until now, the authorities had said police regained control of the prison after hours of fighting among inmates with guns, explosives and machetes.

He said prisoners from two sections of the penitentiary were attacking each other in a new surge of violence.

These are different blocks from the one that saw most of the fighting in the riot that began on Friday night, Mr Jijon said.

President Guillermo Lasso is overseeing a crisis committee and has appealed to civil society groups to try to establish contact with prisoners and end the bloodshed, Mr Jijon said.

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