Armed men attacked a prison in Mexico, 14 including officials were killed, many prisoners escaped

As a result of the attack of armed men on the prison in the northern city of Varez in Mexico, 14 people were killed while 24 prisoners escaped from the prison. The armed men attacked the jail as a result of which 10 jail guards were killed.

The prosecutor said that around five hours after dawn, the security forces brought the situation under control where there was also a fight between inmates inside the prison.

The official statement said that before the attack, the armed men also opened fire on the municipal police, after which the police chased the attackers, resulting in the death of 4 people while the police seized their vehicle.

Later, the assailants in an armored vehicle opened fire on another group of security forces outside the prison, where there was an uproar among the families visiting their relatives who were imprisoned in the prison on the occasion of New Year.

According to local media, some of the angry inmates set fire to various items and clashed with the security personnel.

According to the prosecutor, 13 prisoners were injured during the attack while 4 people were detained, but it was not determined whether they were the attackers or the prisoners.

Prosecutors said they were investigating the motives behind the attack.

It should be noted that several incidents of fighting and riots have taken place in the same prison, including the bloody incident of March 2009 in which 20 people were killed, not only this, but in August 2022, 3 inmates were killed as a result of a fight between two rival gangs. were done

According to the February 2022 report of the Human Rights Commission, there are more than 37 hundred prisoners in the prison, while its capacity is only 3 thousand 135 prisoners.

During his visit to Mexico in February 2016, Pope Francis addressed a mass to 700 inmates and their families in the courtyard of a state prison.

According to the report, overcrowding and violent incidents are common in Mexico, particularly in state-run prisons, where conflicts between rival gangs have increased in recent years.