Ecuadorian port city suffers series of bomb attacks

Quito, April 15 (IANS) At least three bomb attacks hit the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil this week with no casualties reported, the National Police confirmed.

Although the attacks between Thursday night and early Friday morning were "of minor explosive capacity, they generated chaos", Xinhua news agency quoted Police Director of Intelligence General Alain Luna as saying to reporters.

The three explosions occurred in Alborada, Pascuales, and downtown areas of the country's second-most populated city and its industrial centre.

The attacks came hours after the US Embassy in Ecuador issued a security alert for Guayaquil, stating that it had received information that criminals were possibly planning bombings around the city on Thursday night.

On Tuesday, a group of 30 hooded men armed with pistols and rifles opened fire indiscriminately on workers and merchants at a seafood warehouse in the port of Esmeraldas, on the border with Colombia.

At least nine people were killed and four others injured.

The attack took place amid a state of emergency that the government of Esmeraldas declared in March due to rising crime and violence.

Meanwhile, President Guillermo Lasso called on the police to act firmly and use their weapons, amid a wave of violence and crime facing the country, which he attributed to organised crime groups linked to drug trafficking.

Earlier this month, the government authorised the possession and carrying of civilian weapons for personal defence, as well as the use of pepper spray to deal with the instability.

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