Pope Francis offers prayers for the victims of Ecuador's worst-ever prison riot

Pope Francis offered his prayers to victims of a prison riot at one of Ecuador's largest prisons that killed 118 inmates.

"I am very saddened by what has happened in recent days in the prison of Guayaquil, in Ecuador, where a terrible outbreak of violence between inmates belonging to rival gangs has killed more than 100 people and injured many", Francis told the gathered people in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Angelus prayer.

"May God helps us heal the plagues of crime that enslave the poorest and help those who work every day to make prison life more humane," the pontiff added.

Also read | Four wounded in fresh inmate clash at riot-hit Ecuador prison

Meanwhile, four people were wounded and police were shot on Saturday in a new clash between prisoners at the Ecuadorian prison where 118 people were killed just days earlier in the country's deadliest inmate riot.

Police commander Tannya Varela said there was a shootout between inmates at the prison in Guayaquil.

Officers neutralised the confrontation and maintained control of the prison, the police force said.

Two rifles, three pistols, ammunition and cell phones were seized in the prison, police said. The jail has space for 5,300 inmates, but it houses 8,500, which is 60 per cent more than capacity.