Quito. On Saturday, 68 prisoners were killed and 25 wounded in a series of shootings between rebels inside Ecuador’s largest prison, the Littoral Penitentiary. Officials say things have not been going well for a long time. Officials say this is the latest case of rivalry between rival factions with a global medical consortium. This happened early in the morning in a jail on the coastal city of Guayaquil. In the video that has spread widely on social media, some bodies are seen lying on the floor inside the prison, with burnt bodies.

Guayas provincial governor Pablo Arosemena said the first battle lasted about eight hours. The inmates tried to blow up the wall with dynamite to get into Pavilion Two and set it on fire. “We are fighting the smuggling of drugs, it is very difficult,” said Arosemena.

“We have received reports of new conflicts in the Littoral Penitentiary, Hall 12 inmates are attacking people in Hall 7 who are trying to take over,” Presidential spokesman Carlos Gijón said.

He said about 700 police officers were trying to resolve the issue with the group inside the prison. He did not specify if the authorities would regain control of the area or if there were other accidents. Two months earlier, in September, there had been bloodshed among terrorists on the Littoral Jail in which 119 people were killed. There are more than 8,000 prisoners in the prison.

Police Chief General Tanya Varela said the drones showed prisoners in three squares with guns and grenades. Officials said smuggling weapons through vehicles provided by inmates and sometimes even drones. The violence in the prison comes amid a state of emergency that President Guillermo Lasso announced in October. National Emergency empowers security forces to deal with drug trafficking and other crimes.