Rio de Janeiro favelas occupied after major operation
Hundreds of Brazilian security officers, backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters, have occupied 12 shanty towns in Rio de Janeiro.
The major operation is part of an ongoing drive by authorities to push drug gangs away from poor areas.
Two new police pacification units (UPP) will be set up in Lins de Vasconcellos, home to about 15,000 people.
Since 2008, another 34 UPPs have been set up across the state but there have also been reports of police brutality.
06 Oct 2013
- From the section Latin America & Caribbean