QUITO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and three others injured in an armed assault at a mine in Camilo Ponce Enriquez in southern Ecuador's Azuay province, police said Tuesday.

"This morning an attack was reported between members of organized armed groups that caused the death of five people and the injury of three others," the police force said on social media X.

Authorities are investigating the incident in the region of the Andean province, where both legal and illegal mining activities are expanding.

The region is under a "state of exception" and a curfew has been imposed to allow security forces "to neutralize organized crime" and combat violence.

According to official statistics, the area has seen an 82 percent increase in murders so far this year. ■