Inmates in deadly prison riot in Brazil to be transferred

Brazilian authorities say the inmates responsible for the killings of 56 rivals at a prison in the Amazon will be transferred to high-security federal institutions and will be prosecuted.

The governor of Amazonas also says he plans a new penitentiary with a 3,000-inmate capacity to address the problem of overcrowded prisons in the state.

• Brazilian prison riot leaves 56 dead as gang war sparks 'massacre'

The massacreat the AnisioJobimPenitentiary Complex in the city of Manaus ended on Monday after members of one crime gang attacked adversaries.

Many of the dead were beheaded or dismembered in the worst bloodshed at a Brazilian prison since 1992.

Authorities say two crime gangs Family of the North and First Command are fighting control of prisons and drug routes in northern Brazil.

In a separate incident Monday evening, four inmates were killed at UnidadePrisionaldoPuraquequara, another Amazonas prison.

Police are investigating whether there was a connection between the two incidents.

Brazil's prison system holds more than 600,000 inmates and is 61 per cent over capacity, according to Human Rights Watch.