Ecuador's war on gangs

ECUADOR’S president has issued a decree that the country had entered an “internal armed conflict” after masked men broke on to the set of a TV channel waving guns and explosives during a live broadcast.

The men armed with pistols and what looked like sticks of dynamite entered the set of the TC Television network in the port city of Guayaquil and shouted that they had bombs. Noises similar to gunshots could be heard in the background. It was not immediately clear if any station personnel were injured.

Alina Manrique, the head of news for TC Television, said she was in the control room across from the studio when the masked men entered the building. One of the men pointed a gun at her head and told her to get on the floor, she said.