A death squad has killed at least 30
people in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, police say. Several
teenagers and a child were among those gunned down on Thursday night in
towns in the districts of Queimados and Nova Iguacu. Authorities say
they are looking at the possible role of what they call rogue police,
in a potential act of reprisal for recent arrests of eight officers.
Rights groups accuse police of carrying out a 1993 massacre in the
state. Twenty-one people were killed. Rio Public Security Secretary
Marcelo Itagiba said he suspected the involvement of military police in
Thursday's incident. "The Security Secretariat is working with the
hypothesis that this massacre was an act of reprisal for operation
Navalha na Carne," he said. Witnesses told reporters that the gunmen
pulled up and opened fire, leaving victims no time to escape. [more]
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