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Rio de Janeiro (AP) - In the bloodiest police operation in the history of the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, over two dozen people were killed.
In the fierce fighting between alleged members of drug gangs and the police in the Jacarezinho favela, at least 25 people were killed, the news portal "G1" reported on Thursday.
According to the police, the victims were 24 suspects and an officer from the anti-drug unit.
In addition, two passengers on the metro, which passes near the slums in the north of Rio, were shot in a subway car.
A man was hit in the foot by a ricochet in his home.
In addition, two police officers were injured during the operation.
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According to "G1", which analyzed information from the state university UFF and the app "Fogo Cruzado" (crossfire), which collects data on armed violence, this was the police operation with the most deaths in the history of Rio de Janeiro.
"You can only describe it as a catastrophic mission," said the sociologist Daniel Hirata from the UFF.
«It is an action that has been approved by the police authorities.
That makes the matter even more serious. "
In July, the Supreme Court (STF) in Brasília suspended police operations in favelas during the corona pandemic.
These are only allowed in "absolute exceptional cases".
Rio's police described this as “judicial activism” according to the newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo” and assured them that they had met all the requirements of the STF.
The Jacarezinho favela is one of the bases of the “Comando Vermelho” (Red Command) in northern Rio, which it protects with barricades, among other things.
Powerful criminal syndicates such as the "Comando Vermelho" and a number of smaller gangs are fighting in the slums to control drug trafficking and protection money.
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In the face of violent exchanges of fire and explosions, residents, including a bride and a pregnant woman, were unable to leave their homes for hours.
One clinic had to remain closed.
In no other country in the world are so many people killed in police operations as in Brazil.
In 2019, security forces killed 5,804 people in the South American country, according to a violence monitor operated by "G1", the Brazilian Forum for Public Security and the University of São Paulo.
In 2019, police shot and killed 1,098 people in the USA, and 14 people were killed by officers in Germany.
The conditions and working conditions of the police in Europe cannot be compared with those in Brazil: Many poor areas are controlled by heavily armed drug gangs.
If the police move into the favelas to execute an arrest warrant or to look for drugs, they are often greeted with volleys from assault rifles.
The operations in the ganglands of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are more like military operations than police operations.
Human rights activists, however, accuse the police and armed forces of acting with excessive severity.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210507-99-500654 / 2