At least eight people were killed in Ecuador’s western city of Guayaquil, gripped by gang violence, local authorities said.

"Since first reports of incidents started to pour in, we have been informed about eight people killed, two injured, two cars and two motorcycles burned and one police officer sustaining a gun wound," a law enforcement spokesman said during a news conference, aired by the YouTube channel of TV Guerreros Digitales.

City mayor Aquiles Alvarez said first responders have received more than 1,900 calls about crimes and riots.

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 escalated 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.

On Tuesday, Noboa signed an executive order declaring that an "internal armed conflict" was taking place in the country, and ordered to neutralize 22 criminal groups. These gangs were designated as "terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors.".