68 dead in Ecuador prison clash

Sixty-eight inmates in an Ecuador prison are dead following a gun battle between rival gangs inside the nation’s largest penitentiary. 

Violence erupted at the Litoral Penitentiary between two prison gangs connected to drug cartels, according to The Associated Press. The fighting lasted for eight hours on Saturday, and inmates were seen carrying guns and explosives inside the prison, which incarcerates 8,500 people, the wire service reported.

Twelve additional inmates were injured during the weekend rioting. Video from the incident showed inmates lying on the ground — some of the bodies were burned because of the incident, according to AP. 

The prison is located in the coastal city of Guayaquil. 

The governor of the Guayas province said that the government is trying to fight drug trafficking. The leader said inmates “tried to dynamite a wall to get into pavilion 2 to carry out a massacre. They also burned mattresses to try to drown [their rivals] in smoke,” Gov. Pablo Arosemena said, the AP reported.  

A local police commander told the AP that officers had entered three pavilions where fighting had occurred and were returning inmates to their cells, seizing weapons and explosives from them.

The bloodshed comes after a battle broke out at Litoral Penitentiary in September among inmates that killed 118. Five of them were beheaded.

Ecuador is currently in a 60-day national state of emergency, with military forces joining police to fight back against violent gangs and drug trafficking.