Brazilian military police raid Rio de Janeiro’s favelas

Heavily armed officers exchange gunfire with suspected drugs gangs during a fifth day of violence in Brazil’s second largest city

Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro

The violence began on Sunday as police stations and vehicles were attacked by gang members, reports said. Photograph: Felipe Dana/AP

Military police raided favelas in Brazil’s second largest city yesterday, exchanging gunfire with suspected drugs gangs during a fifth day of violence.
Heavily armed officers and armoured cars targeted the hillside shantytowns on the city’s outskirts, including the Vila Cruzeiro slum in the north, considered the stronghold of a gang thought to be behind a number of attacks.
At least 10 armoured marine vehicles, never before used in battles in the city’s favelas, transported soldiers into Vila Cruzeiro, where barriers were erected by gangs and television pictures showed smoke rising from the shell of a bus.
Colonel Alvaro Rodrigues, head of the military police operation, said: “Our goal today is to take back ground from the drug traffickers. We’re taking it back and rescuing society from its position as a hostage to the drug trade.”
The violence began on Sunday as police stations and vehicles were attacked by gang members, reports said. Authorities blamed the assaults on orders from imprisoned gang members angry at police efforts to take control of their turf in more than a dozen favelas.
At least 30 people have been killed in this week’s violence, according to the military police. Among those was a 14-year-old girl hit on Wednesday by a stray bullet. She died in hospital.
Colonel Carlos Chagas, commander of the marine battalion, said: “We have no deadline to stop operations. We’re going to continue giving logistical support … for as long as is needed.”
Rio is among the Brazilian cities that will host the 2014 World Cup. Last year it was awarded the 2016 Olympics. But the city, home to 6 million people, has a history of violence and poverty that contradicts the image it would prefer to project, of beaches and colourful parties.
Last year, gang members shot down a police helicopter, sparking raids and violence that killed 30 people.

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