12 killed in Rio clashes with police, drug gangs

October 18, 2009 11:52:41 AM

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At least 12 people were killed and a helicopter was downed Saturday in fierce clashes between drug gangs and police in Rio de Janeiro, weeks after the city won its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

Two policemen were killed and two others were wounded early Saturday when their helicopter was shot down by drug gangs in a day of running battles in the slums of northern Rio, said military police commander Mario Sergio Duarte.

During exchanges of fire with police throughout the day, eight gang members lost their lives and six others were wounded, including two civilians, a policeman and three gang members, a Public Security Secretariat official said.

Nine buses were also set on fire in other neighborhoods close to "Morro dos Macacos" favela, in retaliation for a police operation aimed at controlling heavy gun battles between rival drug gangs in the area.

Rio's win to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in South America, is a serious challenge for the city, hit by endemic urban violence. Some 6,000 people were murdered here in 2008 alone.

On Saturday the dramatic clashes erupted as gangs in the neighboring "Morro do Sao Jao" favela tried to invade Morro dos Macacos and seize control there, officials said.

A police helicopter pilot was then hit in the leg by gunshots and had trouble landing, explained Major Oderlei Santos.

The aircraft exploded shortly after landing and only two policemen -- including the pilot -- were able to get out in time. The other two passengers were burnt to death.

After the helicopter crashed a new gunbattle erupted between gangs and over a hundred policemen, backed by Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) troops and an armored vehicle.

"I have never heard so many gunshots in my life," a 15-year-old girl who lives in Morro dos Macacos told the G1 website of the Globo media network.

Bus driver Fabio Nascimento said 15 masked men armed with guns and pistols had ordered him to step out of his vehicle and evacuate passengers, declaring: "Get out, get out, we are going to light it on fire!"

The president of the Organization of Lawyers of Brazil (OAB) in Rio denounced the parallel network of power in the city where in some areas gangs hold more control than authorities.

"This power humiliates, kills and blows up the pillars of the republic. How far will they go?" asked Cezar Britto in a statement.

OAB's Rio chief, Wadih Damous, criticized the lack of investment in the hundred or so slums that surround Rio, charging that it is "no longer acceptable that Rio has neighborhoods ruled by gangsters."

In May 2007, shortly after taking power, Rio de Janeiro state governor Sergio Cabral ordered a massive offensive against organized crime.

Major police operations regularly take place in the favelas, home to drug gangs and a third of the population -- two million people.