At least 50 prisoners have died in riots breaking out in three prisons in Ecuador on Tuesday, local police confirm.
"For now, the authorities report 50 deaths among prisoners," during violent riots in three prisons in the port of Gayaquil and the Andean cities of Cuenca and Latacunga. The clashes have also left many injured.
The Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has accused "criminal organisations" of being behind the riots which broke out simultaneously.
The authorities “are acting to regain control of the prisons," the President said on Twitter.
In December, riots left eleven prisoners dead in various Ecuadorian prisons following clashes between rivaling gangs.
The Brussels Times
