Ecuador Declares Internal Armed Conflict As Gunmen Take Over Live TV Broadcast - CNN

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, Jan 10 (KUNA) -- Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa has declared an "internal armed conflict" in the country, ordering security forces to "neutralize" several criminal groups accused of spreading extreme violence in the Latin American nation, according to CNN.
The decree came shortly after hooded and armed men interrupted a live television broadcast, one of several violent incidents playing out across the country on Tuesday.
Employees were forced onto the floor during the broadcast by the public television channel TC in the city of Guayaquil.
Ecuador's police later said they had arrested all the armed men, members of the media outlet had been evacuated, and all staff and hostages were alive.
Police vowed that the perpetrators would be brought to justice for their "acts of terrorism"
At least 10 people have been killed since a 60-day state of emergency began in Ecuador on Monday.
The emergency was declared after a notorious gangster vanished from his prison cell.
It is unclear whether the incident at the TV studio in Guayaquil was related to the disappearance of the high-profile gang leader Adolfo Macias who escaped from a prison in Guayaquil.
Ecuador has been rocked by explosions, police kidnappings, and prison disturbances since the president declared a nationwide state of emergency.
Mounting violence in Ecuador has been linked to fighting between drug cartels, both foreign and local, over control of cocaine routes to the US and Europe. (end)
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