Ecuador condemns killing of 4 children in armed attack

 Ecuador’s government on Tuesday condemned the killing of four children in an armed attack on Monday night in Guasmo Sur, a poor neighborhood in the southwest coastal city of Guayaquil, amid a wave of violence plaguing the South American country.“The murder of four children in Guasmo Sur demonstrates the cruelty that these inhuman murderers are capable of,” the General Secretariat of Communication said in a statement.The government will not rest until the suspects pay for their crimes, said the statement. “In this government, there will be no room for impunity, nor will we give in to those who try to sow terror and desolation in our society.”The State Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into the killing of the children with the youngest aged 5 months in the shooting attack that left their parents injured.Guayaquil Police Commander Victor Herrera said at a press conference that, according to initial investigations, the target was not that family, but another at an adjacent house.The tragic incident, which went viral on social media, occurred amid a rise in violent crimes, including murder, extortion and kidnapping, especially in coastal areas. The government has blamed the violence on organized crime linked to drug trafficking and territorial disputes between rival gangs.In 2022, Ecuador registered a record high rate of violent deaths at 25 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the rate is expected to reach 40 per 100,000 in 2023, which would place Ecuador among the most violent countries in the region.UNI/XINHUA ARN