The death toll from a Brazilian police raid this week in a Rio de Janeiro favela has increased to 28, a police official said late on Friday, as international human rights groups condemned the violence.
One police officer and 27 people were killed in the raid early on Thursday, which authorities said aimed to root out drug traffickers in Jacarezinho, an impoverished community in the city’s North Zone.
It was the deadliest police operation ever carried out in Rio de Janeiro.
“Intelligence confirmed that the dead were drug dealers. They fired at officers, to kill. They had orders to confront,” Civil Police Chief Allan Turnowski told reporters.
David Biller And Marcelo Silva De Sousa
A woman holds a sign that reads in Portuguese: The war on drugs is an excuse to kill black and poor people after a deadly police operation in the Jacarezinho favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, May 7, 2021. A bloody, hours-long gunbattle here echoed into Friday, with authorities saying the police mission killed two dozen criminals while residents and activists claimed human rights abuses. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) May 07, 2021 - 6:09 PM
RIO DE JANEIRO - A bloody, hour-long gunbattle in a Rio de Janeiro slum echoed into Friday, with authorities saying the police killed two dozen criminals while residents and activists claimed human rights abuses and a Supreme Court justice hinted at an investigation.
Rio police draws international ire as 25 killed in drug gun battle
By Rodrigo Viga Gaier
Reuters
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -At least 25 people were killed in a shootout between suspected drug traffickers and police in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, one of the state s deadliest police raids, police said.
People targeted in the raid in the poor Jacarezinho neighborhood tried to escape across rooftops as police arrived in armored vehicles and helicopters flew overhead, television images showed. The firefight forced residents to shelter in their homes.
The victims included one police officer, and the remainder were suspected members of the drug-trafficking gang that dominated life in the slum, including some of its leaders, police said.
25, Including Cop, Killed In Deadliest Brazil Drug Gun Battle In 16 Years 25, Including Cop, Killed In Deadliest Brazil Drug Gun Battle In 16 Years People targeted in the raid in the poor Jacarezinho neighborhood tried to escape across rooftops as police arrived in armored vehicles and helicopters flew overhead, television images showed.
Policemen aim their weapons during an operation against drug dealers in Rio de Janeiro.
Rio De Janeiro:
At least 25 people were killed in a shootout between suspected drug traffickers and police in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, one of the state s deadliest police raids, police said.
People targeted in the raid in the poor Jacarezinho neighborhood tried to escape across rooftops as police arrived in armored vehicles and helicopters flew overhead, television images showed. The firefight forced residents to shelter in their homes.