At least 17 people have been killed in a prison riot in Ecuador, the second deadly prison brawl to hit the country this week.

Thursday’s fighting broke out in the coastal city of Esmeraldas near the Colombian border. Police reportedly found dead prisoners inside their cellblocks, and images shared on social media and verified by the AFP news agency show victims sprawled on the ground with bare, blood-stained torsos. At least two of them were decapitated.

Earlier this week, a prison riot caused by gang fighting in southern Ecuador killed 14 people and wounded 14, according to a local police chief.

Prisoners in the port town of Machala, south of Guayaquil, faced off with authorities on Monday, killing a guard and kidnapping officers, Police Chief William Calle told the TV network Ecuavi

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