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Nine inmates were killed in Brazil overnight in clashes following a failed prison escape, authorities said Thursday.
The violence occurred at the Sao Luis Penitentiary, which houses some 6,000 inmates in the north-eastern state of Maranhao.
"We have nine confirmed dead and 20 injured," a government spokesman told AFP.
State security chief Aluisio Mendes told Brazilian media that the violence erupted when some 60 inmates from rival factions came to blows as they tried to tunnel their way out of the prison.
Mendes said more violence broke out as inmates resisted efforts by authorities to restore order and return them to their prison cells.