A gang attack in Rio de Janeiro leaves more than 100 people dead, including police, officials said

About 2,500 Brazilian police forces raided Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, arresting 81 suspects and leaving more than 100 people dead, officials said.

Brazilian police said Wednesday that 119 people were killed, including four police officers, but the Rio de Janeiro government office told Agence France-Presse.

Rio State Gov. Claudio Castro initially put the death toll at around 60 on Wednesday, but warned that the true number may be lower as more bodies have been rushed to Morlogin and counted.

Residents of a faveli in Rio laid out more than 40 bodies in a plaza in their basement on Wednesday, a day after the operation, AFP reported. The bodies were placed near one of the main roads in the Penha Complex.

The operation included officers in helicopters and decorated cars and aimed at the famous red order in the humble FavelAve at the bottom of the folaveno deconno de alemao and champions, police said.

The police operation is one of the most violent in Brazil’s recent history, with human rights groups demanding an investigation into the death.

Castro said in a video sent to X on Tuesday that 60 suspects were “arrested” during the biggest attack in the city’s history. About 81 suspects were arrested, and 93 firearms and more than half of the drugs were seized, the federal government said, adding that those killed “resisted police action.”

Police in Rio’s Civil’s Favolication told X that four police officers died in action on Tuesday. “Cowardly attacks on criminals against our suppliers will not go unpunished,” it said.

Residents were stripped of their cover and shops closed their doors as police said gangs were using drones to fight back, AFP reported.

Castro posted a video to X of what he described as a gang-controlled drone launching a projectile from a cloudy sky.

“This is how the police in Rio deal with criminals: with bombs dropped by drones. This is the scale of the challenge we are facing. This is not a normal crime, but narcoterrorism,” he said.

State authorities say at least 50 of those killed were ‘pointed out by the police as suspected criminals,’ BBC news reports. Many people were injured, including civilians caught in the crossfire, according to the BBC.

The United Nations’ Prient Head Sydic, said he was “shocked” by the deadly police operation, called for a successful investigation and reminded the authorities of their obligations under international human rights law.

The director of Chésar Muñoz, director of Human Rights Watch in Brazil, called the events of Tuesday “a great tragedy” and tragedy. “

“The Public Prosecutor’s Office must open its investigation and clarify the circumstances of each death,” Muñoz said in a statement.

Footage on social media showed fire and smoke coming from two fazelas as gunfire erupted. The Department of Education of the City said that 46 schools across the seas were closed, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro canceled classes at night and told people on campuses to seek shelter.

Members of the suspected gang blocked roads north and south-east of Rio in response to the attackers, local media said. At least 70 buses were assigned to be used in the blocks, which caused a lot of damage, said the city’s bus association Rio Onibus.

Tuesday’s operation followed a year-long investigation into the crime syndicate, police said.

Gov Castro, from the Conservative who opposed the Liberal Party, said that the federal government should provide more support to fight crime – a swipe at the administration of the President of LEW LULA DA Silva inácio lula da Silva.

Gleisi Hoffmann, the liaison of the LULA Administration with the Parliament, who agreed that the combined action was necessary but pointed to the recent breakdown in the security of money as an example of the action of the Federal government against organized crime.

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and many ministers met with a response at work on Tuesday afternoon. The Chief of Staff REI COSTA called for an urgent meeting in Rio on Wednesday, with him present and the Minister of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski.

Coming from prisons in Rio, the Red Command Command Climinal Clish Grading has increased its control in the FavelAvel in recent years.

“Russian Roulette”

Rio has been the scene of deadly police brutality for decades. In March 2005, 29 people were killed in Rio Fluminense in Rio’s Baixada district, and in May 2021, 28 were killed in Jacarezin Faavera.

While Tuesday’s police operation was similar to previous ones, its scale was unprecedented, said Luis Flavio Sapori, a sociologist and public security expert at the PePolical Catholic University of Minas Gerais.

“What is different about today’s operation is the size of the victims. These are war numbers,” he said.

He pointed out that these types of operations do not work well because they do not take hold of masterminds, but instead aim at dealings that can be replaced later.

“It is not enough to go in, exchange guns, and leave. There is a lack of public security policy in Rio de Janeiro,” said Sapoli. “Some lower-ranking members of these groups were killed, but those people were quickly replaced by others.”

The Marielle Franco Institute, a nonprofit founded by the family of the Slain Council Council, has continued the value of fighting for the rights of people living in FavelAves, and they have criticized the operation.

“This is not a public safety policy. It is a policy of extermination, which makes the daily lives of black and poor people a Russian Roulette,” the statement said.

“Everybody’s scared”

AFP saw police in the Vila Cruzero area of ​​Penha District guarding about 20 young people gathered together and sitting on the side of the road, heads bowed, bare feet.

“This is the first time I have seen drones (criminals) dropping bombs in the community,” said a resident of Penha, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Everybody panics because there’s a really big gun,” he added.

Tuesday’s operation halted traffic on major highways.

“We were left without buses, without anything, in this chaos and we don’t know what to do,” said Regina Pinheiro, a 70-year-old retiree, who was trying to return home.