Ecuador’s army and police have arrested 329 criminal gang members and killed 5 others since the start of armed unrest in the country. This was announced by the head of the United Command of the Armed Forces, Vela Eraso.

‘We captured 61 weapons of different calibers, 418 ammunition, 24 explosive devices, we arrested 329 terrorists. 41 people were rescued from captivity. We have eliminated 5 terrorists,’ he declared during the conference broadcast by the local channel Ecuavisa. The senior officer noted that after clashes with three armed criminal groups, security forces returned 28 escaped prisoners to prisons.

The senior Ecuadorian official assured that no hostages had been killed in the prisons where the riots took place. According to official figures, at least 139 people are being held hostage by armed gang members in Ecuadorian prisons.

The security situation in Ecuador worsened on January 7 following the escape from prison of the leader of the criminal group Los Choneros, nicknamed Fito. This escape wa
s followed by riots in several penitentiaries. On January 8, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency in the country.

Source: Burkina Information Agency