At least 23 dead in Rio de Janeiro after a police operation in a favela

05/06/2021 1:34 PM

• Clarín.com

• World

Updated 05/06/2021 1:34 PM

An operation of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro against drug trafficking carried out in the Jacarezinho favela, located in the northern part of the city, has triggered a shooting and left

at least 23 dead

, including one agent.

According to the information collected by the G1 portal, the operation, which has left the highest number of casualties in an action of this type since July 2016, took place at dawn this Thursday.

Videos recorded by people who were in public transport while the action was taking place record the sound of gunfire and

bomb explosions in various parts of the favela

.

A police vehicle in the Rio de Janeiro area where the operation took place.

Photo: AFP

Two other people were shot while riding the subway, but managed to survive.

Meanwhile, some residents of Jacarezinho reported that they had not been able to leave their homes because of what happened.

According to the authorities, the drug trafficking gang that controls the area has been recruiting minors to carry out criminal actions.

The faction is investigated for murders, robberies and kidnappings.

Always according to the Police,

drug trafficking in this area adopts "guerrilla tactics"

, including the use of heavy weapons and uniformed soldiers.

The intense armed confrontation took place from the early hours in the northern part of the city, in the Jacarezinho favela, one of the most depressed and violent communities in the city, when

about 200 police officers

were sent to the neighborhood to repress a drug gang.

Helicopters supported the actions of the soldiers from the air and some criminals managed to flee through the roofs of the houses.

Until the end of the morning

, the state of health of the two civilians

who were injured in the subway by a bullet that went through the window of one of the cars

was unknown

.

According to witnesses to the events, two men were hit with the same projectile, one of them in the arm and the other in the head.

The Jacarezinho favela

is one of the bases of the Comando Vermelho

(red command), the largest drug trafficking gang in Rio.

Clashes between rival drug gangs, as well as between them and militiamen (paramilitaries) and police, are

common in several of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro

, one of the cities most affected by drug trafficking in Brazil.

Source: agencies