By Alexandra Valencia
QUITO (Reuters) -Eleven prison staff members who had been held by inmates at the Esmeraldas prison in Ecuador were freed on Saturday, police said.
They were among 158 guards and 20 administrative staffers taken hostage since Monday in at least seven prisons amid a sharp increase in violence in the South American country.
Eight other prison staff had been freed before Saturday, officials said.
The SNAI prisons agency said in a statement earlier on Saturday that there had been incidents at several prisons, without giving further details.
Ecuador is grappling with a security crisis that worsened this week with the on-air storming of a TV station, the hostage-taking of dozens of prison staff by inmates and the kidnapping of police officers.
The police and the armed forces were continuing to carry out operations around the country. More than 800 people have been arrested since a state of emergency began on Monday.
Armed groups appear to be reacting to President Daniel Noboa’s plans to tackle the dire security situation, according to the government.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia, writing by Cassandra Garrison;Editing by Alistair Bell and Will Dunham)
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