MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Buses torched in Rio after a youth dies in shootout with the police

Residents set up barricades and clash with the police despite the show of force

Residents of a northern suburb of Rio do Janeiro torched five buses Monday shortly after a 17-year-old youth died in a shootout between criminals and police, Brazilian media reported. The incident again put a harsh spotlight on security in the country, just six weeks before Brazil hosts the football World Cup, with Rio staging seven matches including the July 13 final.

 The victim was in a stolen car and a firearm was found by his side, military police said after the shooting, which the G1 web portal reported came during a police crackdown on drug dealing and car thefts in the Morro de Chapadao slum.

Following the shootout, a 20-strong group of youths set fire to the buses.

It came nearly a week after police and people in a slum a short walk from the tourist haven of Copacabana beach clashed following the death of a dancer which residents blamed on police.

Separately, earlier Monday, youths set alight three cars in the Alemao slum after the death of a 72-year-old woman in circumstances which remained unclear, G1 reported.

Dalva Arlinda Beserra de Assis, who had been on her way home Sunday with her 10-year-old grandson, was hit by a single bullet - although it is uncertain who fired the shot - and died as she was being transported to a nearby hospital, officials said.

The shootout began at nightfall in the Complexo do Alemao housing project when police officers patrolling the zone were attacked by members of a drug trafficking gang shortly after one of the members of their group, identified as Ramires Roberto da Silva, was arrested.

When the shootout was over, about 50 residents blocked traffic on an avenue bordering the shantytown, or “favela,” to protest the “police violence.” The demonstrators set up barricades and set fire to wastepaper in trash cans, but the protest concluded without any further incidents or arrests.

The Complexo do Alemao in 2010 was occupied by police in keeping with the Rio de Janeiro authorities' policy of taking over favelas to rid them of drug gangs and other criminal groups.

Participating in the operation in the neighborhood were armored vehicles and army troops, whose imposing presence put dozens of criminals to literal flight, abandoning the favela for nearby hills as they were filmed fleeing by television camera crews.

But despite the heavy police presence, violence has broken out in many of the favelas that have been occupied by the authorities and those clashes and shootouts have increased over the past few weeks.

Since 2008 the Rio government has been rolling out the program of police “pacification,” sending specialist units into 174 favelas.