China closes diplomatic missions in crisis-hit Ecuador
China's embassy and all its consulates in Ecuador will halt services to the public on Wednesday, it said in a statement, as the country exploded in what President Daniel Noboa called an "internal armed conflict". "The reopening to the public will be announced in due course," the embassy said in a press release in Spanish shared on social media site WeChat. Ecuador's president gave orders on Tuesday to "neutralise" criminal gangs after gunmen opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions on a second day of terror in the violence-riddled country. Eight people were killed and three were wounded in attacks in the port city of Guayaquil, and two officers were "viciously murdered by armed criminals" in the nearby town of Nobol, police said on Tuesday evening. Long a peaceful haven sandwiched between top cocaine exporters Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has seen violence explode in recent years as rival gangs with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control. After the prison escape of Jose Adolfo Macias, aka "Fito" – leader of Ecuador's biggest gang Los Choneros – Noboa on Monday declared a countrywide state of emergency and nighttime curfew. On Wednesday, Beijing said it was "closely following the changing security situation" in the country. "The Foreign Ministry has instructed its embassy and consulates in Ecuador to immediately launch emergency response mechanisms for consular protection," spokeswoman Mao Ning said. According to the Chinese Embassy in Ecuador, there has been no report about security incidents concerning Chinese enterprises or its nationals in Ecuador. Mao also said China "supports the government of Ecuador in its efforts to safeguard social stability and hopes that Ecuador will soon restore normal order". (AFP, additional reporting by Xinhua)