Brazil: 13 killed in clashes with police

At least 13 people were killed in clashes with police outside Brazil’s seaside city of Rio de Janeiro after a raid to arrest a gang leader.

The clashes took place in the working-class Salgueiro neighbourhood in the city of Sao Goncalo, northeast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second-largest city.

The raid on Thursday sought to arrest Leonardo Costa Araujo in an operation that also employed helicopters and armoured vehicles, according to police.

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Araujo, accused of being a drug gang leader from the northern state of Para, is among the dead.

He was implicated in the death of several police officers in Para in recent years and police believed he was hiding in the area.

According to the police, those killed were all suspected criminals.

Rio state police forces regularly carry out deadly raids in the metro area’s sprawling slums.

“We will not allow Rio to be used as a hideout for bandits from other states,” Governor Claudio Castro of Rio de Janiero state wrote in a post on social media.

Three local residents with no suspected criminal connections were also shot and injured during the clashes, the police added.

Zainab Sa’id