BUENOS AIRES, January 10. /TASS/. Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa has declared the state of "internal armed conflict" in his country amid a major security crisis, caused by gang violence and prison riots.

"I have signed an executive order, declaring the state of internal armed conflict," he wrote on the X social network, formerly known as Twitter.

The document, signed by the head of the state, orders to "mobilize the armed forces and the national police on the country’s territory to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity from organized transnational crime, terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors."

Noboa also said that 22 criminal gangs active in Ecuador will be declared terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors and ordered the armed forces to neutralize them.

Masked gunmen stormed into a studio of Ecuador’s TC Television in the western city of Guayaquil during a live broadcast on Tuesday, taking presenters hostage on air. The exact number of hostages and attackers is unknown.

The country’s Ecuavisa TV and Vistazo magazine had to evacuate their staff following the attack on TC Television, the La Nacion newspaper reported.

Later, it was reported that the vast majority of hostages had already been released, but the operation to release the remaining few is still under way. At least four attackers were detained.

A number of key roads in Guayaquil were blocked by the police. The authorities call upon residents to stay indoors. The city’s bus station was also closed for security reasons.

Gang violence erupted in Ecuador on January 7, following the prison escape of a gang leader known as Fito, who heads the Los Choneros gang. It evolved into a major security crisis when President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency and introduced a curfew the following day in an attempt to quell prison unrests that broke out after Fito’s escape.