INTERNATIONAL: At least 12 prisoners died and another 10 were injured during a gang confrontation at a prison in Ecuador, the government said on Sunday (April 3), in a new episode of prison violence in the Andean country.

Violence in Ecuadorian prisons, which the government says is related to gang disputes over drug trafficking, killed 316 people last year.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights says the system is blighted by state abandonment and the absence of a comprehensive policy, as well as poor conditions for inmates.

Several relatives of the inmates have been holding outside the prison grounds for hours, waiting for any information from the authorities.

"We have been waiting more than 20 hours for the authorities to control the situation, which they are still to do," said a relative of one of the prison's inmates.

There were no reports of escaped inmates, the government said.

Ecuadorian Interior Minister, Patricio Carrillo, Said:

"It is not yet controlled, unfortunately, prisons have been a permanent threat for a long time. Today there is a will, and we are going to take the necessary actions, those who despise life will have to understand they live in a state of law, and they will have to learn to respect the rights and freedoms of all."

"We have been waiting more than 20 hours for the authorities to control the situation, which they are still to do, we have been standing here since one in the morning, as you can see, the boys are on the roof asking for help and the gentlemen are outside here threatening us with their horses because we are demanding something that is fair to ask."