#NEWS #RIO Army in shootout with gang members in Rio; 105 cars and buses torched since Sunday

Folha.com.

FROM SÃO PAULO

Clashes between criminals and soldiers in Rio continued on Saturday. Since last Sunday (21st) a wave of attacks and arson attacks against buses and cars has taken over different points of the state of Rio de Janeiro. By late Satuday afternoon 105 vehicles had been burned.

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Security authorities say the criminal actions are the drug trade's response to the establishment of UPPs (Pacifying Police Units) in slums and hillside shantytowns.

In an attempt to control the violence, Rio's police has been undertaking raids in communities with the help of Armed Forces personnel. Since the start of the wave of violence 45 people have died in police raids.

According to numbers presented, 31 people have been detained by Rio state Military Police during this Saturday's operations.

Police raids in slums and hillside communities led the Military Police to capture 750 kilos of marijuana.

A thousand rifle's ammunition were also seized, and a large amount of dynamite. During their raids, police officers also seized 10 pickups used by drug dealers.

About 800 Armed Forces soldiers provided backup to Rio police officers during the operations.

The situation this Saturday has been tense in the Complexo do Alemão area. Criminals and Army soldiers were involved in a heavy shootout in the slum complex situated in Penha, in Rio's north zone.

The process of recovery of Vila Cruzeiro and Complexo do Alemão will unfold in two different operations. Under the command of the state government, one of them will consist of Military and Civil Police incursions with logistic support from the Armed Forces --that is, with the use of Army and Navy armored cars and Air Force choppers.

The second one will be the patrol operations around the approximately 40 entrance points to the two hillside areas and will he headed by the Eastern Military Command. The 800 soldiers are taking part in this second operation.

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