Five killed in armed attack at Ecuador mine

Quito: At least five people were killed and three others injured in an armed attack at a mine in Camilo Ponce Enriquez in the Azuay province of southern Ecuador, police said.

“This morning an attack was reported between members of organized armed groups, leaving five people dead and three others injured,” the police force said on social media.

Authorities are investigating the incident in the Andean province, where both legal and illegal mining activities are on the rise, Xinhua news agency reported.

The region is in a “state of exception” and a curfew has been imposed to allow security forces to “neutralize organized crime” and tackle violence.

The region has seen an 82 per cent rise in homicides so far this year, according to official data.

(IANS)