Buenos Aires, 28 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) - At least nine people have been killed in a major police operation in several poor neighbourhoods in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian media including the news portal G1 reported on Tuesday.

Two police officers were injured and five people were detained, local media reported. According to police, those killed were criminals.

Many schools with thousands of pupils had been closed due to the operation, and residents had not left their homes for fear of gunfire.

According to the G1 report, the police, who were supported by the Bope special unit, wanted to arrest the bosses of the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) crime syndicate, who were allegedly hiding in the favela.

The criminals had erected and set fire to barricades made of vehicles, which the police had to clear.

Powerful crime syndicates like Comando Vermelho and a number of smaller gangs vie for control of drug trafficking and protection rackets in the poor neighbourhoods.

In the bloodiest operation in Rio's history in 2021, police officers killed at least 28 suspected members of drug gangs in the Jacarezinho neighbourhood, an area known as one of Comando Vermelho's bases.

Photo: MIA archive