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Jamaica drugs crackdown: women, children evacuated
Jamaican authorities have ordered the evacuation of all women and children from Kingston's roughest neighborhoods, as police clashed with powerful gangs over the planned extradition of a drug suspect to the United States.
Residents were directed to buses which ferried them to a safe location away from the violence. But many telephoned radio stations to say they feared for their lives and could not leave the area. Police said that gunmen from various communities across this Caribbean country of 2.8 million had joined forces with criminal elements in Tivoli Gardens in a bid to protect reputed area leader, Christopher "Dudus" Coke. "Images of barricades, other defensive positions and the aforementioned unprovoked attacks together with credible intelligence indicate that scores of criminals from several gangs across the island have joined criminal elements in Tivoli Gardens. "It is now clear that criminal elements are determined to launch coordinated attacks on the security forces," the release warned. Earlier police said three police stations were attacked, with one set on fire, and that a police officer and a civilian were wounded by gunfire in street clashes. The police, backed by the state of the emergency declared by the Jamaican government, made it clear that they would respond in an appropriate manner Posted by: lotp 2010-05-24 |
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