More than 230 inmates were relocated from the overcrowded Topo Chico prison in the state of Nuevo Leon in Mexico after a riot there left 49 prisoners dead, authorities said.
The leaders of the two gangs Jorge Ivan Hernandez and Juan Pedro Saldivar, whose clash caused the riot, were among the 233 relocated prisoners, Xinhua quoted Nuevo Leon Governor Jaime Rodriguez as saying on Friday.
Rodriguez, who took office in October 2015, said shortage of funds and lack of custodians coupled with irregularities in the prison contributed to the deadly riot.
Most of the deaths were caused by knife wounds or knocks from sticks and hammers, said the governor, adding one of the prisoners died after being shot by a prison custodian.
Police found 60 hammers and 68 knives after the incident.
The two rival groups inside Topo Chico belonged to the same criminal organisation called "Los Zetas".
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Tension in the prison had been running high since Saldivar's "Z-27" group was moved from the state of Tamaulipas to Topo Chico in November 2015.
Since the arrival of "Z-27," local authorities had tried to move Hernandez's "El Credo" group to another prison but a court order prevented them from doing so.
Local police are currently in control of the prison with the help of federal police agents.