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Ten killed in Brazilian slum raid Ten killed in Brazilian slum raid
(about 7 hours later)
Ten people, including two teenage boys, have been killed during a police raid on shanty towns in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, officials say. At least 10 people have been killed after Brazilian police raided shanty towns in Rio de Janeiro in an anti-drugs operation.
The authorities say those who died were suspected drug dealers. About 300 police and special forces using armoured vehicles and helicopters descended upon four slums, know as favelas, in the west of the city.
But community and rights groups often challenge the police version of events after major security operations. Police say all those who died were suspected drug dealers.
The deaths happened at a time when police in Rio de Janeiro are trying a new community policing approach in two of the city's shanty towns. But a BBC correspondent in the city says community groups often challenge the police version of events.
The raids involving 300 officers were carried out across four of Rio de Janeiro's sprawling shanty towns. The operation comes as officials recently launched a new approach to ridding the favelas of drugs traffickers.
Armoured vehicles and helicopters were used by police searching for drugs, arms and stolen cars. Instead of withdrawing after violent shootouts, police aim to maintain a constant presence in the shanty towns.
Two of the dead are reported to be teenage boys, while a woman who was hit by a stray bullet was also taken to hospital. Drugs targeted
class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7870395.stm">Brazil's shanty town challenge The police often stay out of Rio's large shanty towns, only entering on heavily-armed raids directed against drug gangs or illegal militias. Police said the target of the latest operation had been drugs, arms and stolen cars in the sprawling favelas.
However, the latest killings come at a time when a new approach to policing is being tried in two poor neighbourhoods, one of which was visited by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday. Those killed included two teenage boys, the city's civil defence ministry confirmed.
Instead of withdrawing after a short and violent confrontation, the police say they are maintaining a 24-hour presence in the shanty town of Santa Marta in order to take back the area from drug traffickers. At least seven people were arrested and police say they recovered guns, two grenades and an assortment of drugs.
Analysts say the experiment might offer at least a limited alternative for policing in Rio de Janeiro. class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7870395.stm">Brazil's shanty town challenge
However, there are more than 900 shanty towns of various sizes in the city, and the costs and challenges of ensuring all of them are properly policed would be enormous. A woman who was hit by a stray bullet was also taken to hospital, reports say.
"It was a success. With today's operation we have considerably weakened the criminals," said the head of civil police, Gilberto Ribeiro.
Police often stay out of Rio's large shanty towns, only entering on heavily armed raids directed against drug gangs or illegal militias, says the BBC's Gary Duffy in Rio de Janeiro.
However a new approach to policing is being tried in two poor neighbourhoods, one of which was visited by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday.
Police are maintaining a 24-hour presence in the shanty town of Santa Marta to try to reclaim the area from drugs gangs.
Analysts say the experiment might offer at least a limited alternative for policing in city.
However there are more than 900 shanty towns and the costs and challenges of ensuring all are properly policed would be enormous, our correspondent says.