GETTY A victim of the latest Brazilian prison riot

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At least three of the victims are known to have been beaheaded in the riots which are the latest in a series of massacres in the country’s hellish prison system. The latest atrocity broke out at the Alcacuz Penitentiary in Rio Grande do Norte state where 1,083 men are crammed into a facility designed to house 620. It started when criminal factions clashed and some cellblocks were invaded by rivals.

AFP Rioters scale the walls in the latest outbreak of violence in Brazil's prison system

We could see the heads ripped off three inmates Zemilton Silva

Brazilian prison system co-ordinator Zemilton Silva said: “We could see the heads ripped off three inmates.” Police have surrounded the prison and blocked the exits but are waiting to enter the compound because the inmates are still out of their cells and armed. There was a serious incident at the same prison just over a year ago when an escape tunnel was discovered by guards.

AFP Inmates scatter as violence erupts in the prison yard

The recent string of Brazilian prison violence began on New Year’s Day when 56 inmates were killed in the northern state of Amazonas. Authorities said the Family of the North gang targeted members of Brazil's most powerful criminal gang, First Command, in a clash over control of drug-trafficking routes in northern states. Graphic images and video of the resulting massacre emerged showing many of the dead beheaded and dismembered.

AFP Plumes of smoke rise above the riot-torn Alcacuz Penitentiary in Brazil

GETTY At least three inmates were beheaded during a fight that broke out between two criminal gangs

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