QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador's armed forces will continue carrying out joint anti-crime operations with the police under a presidential decree announced at midnight on Monday, the government said.

       The operations were first allowed under a 90-day state of emergency declared in January by President Daniel Noboa and meant to stem a wave of crime and violence blamed on drug trafficking gangs.

       Military operations against organized crime, the joint operations with the police and increased security at prisons will continue under the decree, the government said in a statement posted on social media overnight.

       "These decision will allow the government of new Ecuador, with the support of the forces of order, to continue deploying priority actions to protect citizen security and well-being," the statement said.

       Noboa, 36, took power in November and has been touting his "Phoenix Plan" to combat crime and violence, including the murders of public officials and an explosion of unrest in January, when gunmen stormed a live television broadcast and scores of prison staff were taken hostage.

       Noboa has called the violence a war, arguing it requires extraordinary measures to fight.

       (Reporting by Alexandra ValenciaWriting by Julia Symmes Cobb)

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