Eighteen killed in wave of gang attacks in Rio
Source: Reuters
(Recasts, adds police measures and comment, new bus attacks) By Rodrigo Gaier and Andrei Khalip RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Rio de Janeiro will redouble police patrols for its spectacular New Year's celebrations after gangs attacked buses and police posts on Thursday in a wave of violence that killed at least 18 people. Seven people were burned to death on a bus and nearly two dozen were wounded, said Rio state public security secretary Roberto Precioso, who blamed drug gangs and their jailed kingpins for 12 attacks across the oceanside city. Police killed seven suspected attackers and arrested three. Two police officers were killed in the violence, which started after midnight. Two buses were torched in the afternoon despite strong policing. The attacks came as Rio prepared for its massive New Year's Eve beach party, which draws huge crowds of tourists. More than 2 million people are expected to flock to Ipanema and Copacabana beaches where performers including U.S. hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas will take part in a globally broadcast show. Officials said 14,234 officers will patrol streets, bus stations, and subway stops on New Year's eve -- a 20 percent increase from last year. They will use 92 additional vehicles to patrol potential hot spots. Police will erect 32 surveillance towers on famed Copacabana beach. "I believe with these measures and the police backup, peace will be ensured over New Year's," said Col. Hudson de Aguiar, commander of the Military Police. The violence recalled a wave of bloodshed that hit the business capital Sao Paulo earlier this year on orders from a powerful prison-based gang. "It's an act against changes in the penitentiary administration," Precioso told a news conference. A new state government will take office on Jan. 1. But penitentiary department chief, Asterio Pereira, who steps down next week, said the attacks were probably part of a turf war between the city's three major gangs and vigilante groups set up in some slums by off-duty police officers. FIGHT FOR ECONOMIC POWER The groups have been taking control of the slums from drug traffickers and demanding protection fees from slum dwellers. "It's a fight for economic power. ... The militias exist, they are the fourth major gang in the state," Pereira said. "Nothing suggests that the order came from the prisons." Precioso said police had occupied 10 slums, which are controlled by drug gangs, and reinforced patrols. "The result (of the attacks) was tragic. If it had not been for police action it could have been worse," Precioso said. Firefighters found seven charred bodies inside a bus that was torched on the busy Avenida Brasil thoroughfare. Assailants sprayed a police post with bullets in the beachside neighborhood of Botafogo, killing a street vendor. Over 200 people were killed in Sao Paulo after a powerful prison gang ordered attacks on public targets in May. Police retaliated in violence that continued into July. The gang was protesting against transfers of ringleaders to tighter security prisons. Rio police are notorious for tough tactics and their retaliation could be harsh. Police kill over a 1,000 suspects per year in Rio, more than in some war zones, and human rights groups accuse police of summary executions. Municipal tourism secretary Rubem Medina told Reuters the attacks would hurt Rio's image. After its famed Carnival in February, the city will host the Pan-American Games next July. "It's such a shame that we are working so hard to show the positive sides of our city and this act damages it all," Medina said. "It is lamentable, sad," he said. He expected 550,000 tourists for the New Year's bash. (Additional reporting by Pedro Fonseca)
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