At least 5 prisoners were killed and 15 injured in a gun battle that took place inside the La Tolva prison in Honduras between members of the Barrio 18 gang and others from the Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13),
"The public prosecutor's services told us that there are at least five dead, but neither they nor the forensic police have managed to enter the prison so far because the incident is still going on," said Yuri Mora, a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Office.
"Security is not yet ready to enter to carry out searches," he explained, while local media reported that the authorities had sent police and army units to support the guards of the prison, located about 40 km east of the capital, Tegucigalpa.
For its part, the Escuela State Hospital in the capital published a list of 15 people who were shot in the prison, and ambulances took them to it.
According to local media, hundreds of relatives of prisoners gathered in the hospital and in front of the prison in an attempt to dispel the news of their relatives.
The rival "Barrio 18" and "MS-13" gangs control many neighborhoods on the outskirts of major cities in Honduras, as well as large rural areas, and a fierce war is raging between them because of each attempt to extend their influence to the other gang's area.
These two gangs are involved in criminal operations including drug and arms smuggling and trafficking, car theft and other crimes, according to police sources.
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