A violence which broke out inside Sabaneta jail in the western Venezuelan city of Maracaibo has claimed at least 16 inmates, CEOAFRICA.com gathered.

According to Prison Minister Iris Varela, fifteen of the victims died in fights between rival gangs, while the other victim was killed in a separate fight. Some of the inmates were beheaded and others dismembered, pressure group Venezuelan Prison Observatory told AFP news agency.

Also, Director of the Venezuelan Prison Observatory Humberto Prado said this latest incident made Sabaneta the most violent jail in the country, with 69 people killed behind its bars so far this year.

It was also the site of one of Venezuela's biggest prison tragedies, when more than 100 inmates died in a 1994 fire believed to have been caused by inmates seeking revenge on a rival gang.

About 3,700 inmates are imprisoned in Sabaneta, which was built to house 700.