10 inmates die in prison fighting between gangs

Fighting between rival gangs in a prison in northern Brazil on Saturday has reportedly left at least 10 inmates dead in the latest in a series of massacres in the South American country’s penitentiaries. Three of the victims were beheaded.

News website Folha de Sao Paulo said the afternoon riot broke out at the Alcacuz Penitentiary in Rio Grande do Norte state after criminal factions clashed and some cellblocks were invaded by rivals.

Zemilton Silva, coordinator of the prison system, said “we could see the heads ripped off” three inmates.

The recent string of Brazilian prison violence began on Jan. 1-2, when 56 inmates were killed in the northern state of Amazonas.