QUITO, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has declared a new 60-day "state of emergency" in nine provinces and three municipalities as an increase in criminal violence has caused serious internal commotion, local media said on Thursday.

The decree, signed on Wednesday by the president, has been in force since Thursday in the provinces of Guayas, Manabi, Santa Elena, Los Rios, El Oro and Esmeraldas in the coastal region, in the central-northern provinces of Pichincha and Santo Domingo, as well as in Sucumbios province in the Amazon region.

The measure is also applied in the municipality of La Mana in the central province of Cotopaxi, along with the municipalities of Las Naves and Echeandia in the Andean province of Bolivar.

The president said the 60-day validity of the decree aims to contain and reduce high-intensity violence, neutralize ongoing or imminent threats, and dismantle criminal structures.

Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 23 last year, 1,232 victims of intentional homicide were registered in Ecuador in the provinces of Guayas, Los Rios, Manabi, El Oro, Pichincha, Esmeraldas, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo and Sucumbios, according to reports from the National Police. ■