Slideshow ( 5 images )

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s President Michel Temer said on Thursday there was confusion about the role government forces should have played during the riot at a privately run prison this week that ended with 56 inmates killed by fellow prisoners.

Temer, speaking for the first time about Brazil’s bloodiest prison massacre in more than two decades, said that state governments should seek reinforcement from federal forces in such situations but at no time was the federal government asked for help.

The president also said his government would redouble efforts to finalize a national security plan, which would include a larger role for the federal authorities in security issues. At present, the policing and the running of prisons are largely the responsibility of state governments.