At least nine people were killed during a police operation in Rio de Janeiro

 At least nine people were killed and six injured as a result of police operations in low-income areas of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, local police reported, UNN reports.

 Details

Tuesday morning's actions were aimed at areas controlled by the Red Command's drug network in several districts north of Rio.

Police in Rio said they were attacked by armed assailants during an operation in the Penha neighborhood on Wednesday. Police said nine suspected gangsters were killed and one officer was hospitalized.

Uneven death tolls have become commonplace during raids in Rio, prompting critics to accuse police of using excessive force or even extrajudicial executions. At least 29 people were killed during a 2021 operation in Rio's gang-infested Jacarezinho slum, and only one police officer lost his life.

The number of police killings in Rio rose during the presidency of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who enjoyed widespread support among the police. Bolsonaro, who represented Rio as a federal legislator for years, sought to strengthen legal protections for police officers who kill on the job and said that criminals should "die like cockroaches.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in last year's vote, has long criticized his predecessor's support for the killing police.

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