This handout picture released by the Ecuadorean Armed Forces shows security forces keeping watch over inmates after soldiers and police forces regained control of the Turi prison in Cuenca, Ecuador, on Jan 14, 2024. Ecuador's security forces worked Sunday to regain control of prisons that had fallen into the hands of gang members, after securing the release of nearly 180 officials held hostage inside the jails. The country's simmering security crisis erupted last week as the government and powerful narco gangs declared all-out war on each other, after the prison escape of a dangerous drug lord. (HANDOUT / ECUADORIAN ARMED FORCES VIA AFP)

QUITO - Ecuador's police and military on Sunday were aiming to restore order inside the country's dangerous prisons where dozens of staff were held hostage by inmates amid an uptick in violence in the Andean nation.

Images on social media shared by Ecuadorean armed forces showed shirtless prisoners on their knees with hands on their heads as armed soldiers entered the seven jails that were the scenes of a hostage crisis that ended Saturday evening.

The hostages, which the SNAI prison agency previously said were 158 guards and 20 administrative staffers, were held since last Monday in at least seven prisons before they were freed

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Security forces were conducting searches and regaining control of the prisons, the military said.

"The national police are respecting the human rights of these people. We are doing so in a very calm manner," Norman Cano, police chief at the Esmeraldas prison, said on social media.

The hostages, which the SNAI prison agency previously said were 158 guards and 20 administrative staffers, were held since last Monday in at least seven prisons before they were freed.

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Armed groups appear to be reacting to President Daniel Noboa's plans to tackle the dire security situation, according to the government.