BRAZIL: Police in Sao Paulo have been accused of embarking on a systematic campaign of revenge attacks after at least 29 fellow officers were killed during a weekend of gang-related violence.
At least 93 suspects have been killed over the past five days, many in what the authorities have called "confrontations with the police". Forty-nine of the deaths have come in the last 48 hours.
Brazil's authorities have appealed for calm, but Sao Paulo's governor has refused an offer from the government of a 4,000-strong federal security force to help control the situation.
Yesterday morning, as another 16 people who were described as criminals were killed by the police in various parts of the city, human rights activists said they feared a strategy of revenge was being implemented. The names of those killed have not been released, nor details of their deaths.
Paulo de Mesquita Neto, of the Sao Paulo Institute Against Violence, said a "strategy of retaliation" was taking root. "Initially the police seemed to have had some success and had the support of the population. In the last few hours, however, they seem to have gone looking for revenge ... If it [ the police force] starts going down this path, it will be showing it is unable to cope."
The bloodshed, extraordinary even for one of South America's most violent countries, began last Friday with attacks by gang members on police, in apparent retaliation for the transfer of 765 jailed members of the PCC or First Command of the Capital drug faction to a maximum security prison.
Revolts followed in more than 70 prisons where hundreds of hostages were taken.
In a press conference on Tuesday, one of the city's top policemen admitted "the police had gone on the offensive", killing at least 33 suspects that day. "People have gone as far as saying that the criminals would receive plasma TV screens," said Marco Desgualdo, head of Sao Paulo's civil police, in a reference to a supposed deal struck with the rebelling prisoners. He described the police as the "force of good, the voice of society".
The head of the military police, Elizeu Borges, said any rise in the number of people killed by his troops was because they were "killing those who dare to confront us".
Some security experts say such language gives officers the green light to carry out summary executions. "It is not only a licence [ to kill], it's really an active encouragement," said Ignacio Cano, from Rio de Janeiro's state university. "The way this is interpreted in the ranks is that they should go out and get even ... The need to restore honour actually seems more important than the protection of citizens."