Army struggles to regain control of lawless Brazilian city where at least 100 people have been killed in just FIVE days since police went on strike
A lawless Brazilian city's murder rate has soared since police went on strike and the death toll has now pushed into triple figures in just five days.
Military troops had to be deployed in the state of Espírito Santo after looting, rape and murders broke out on Saturday amid the industrial action in a row over wages, but even they can't wrestle back control.
Since the walkout, more than 100 people have been killed in the metropolitan area of Vitoria, and officers' refusal to return to work has been labelled blackmail and holding the public to ransom by state officials.
Youths with T-shirts covering their faces gesture next to a barricade in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil, on Tuesday
A topless man carries a sign to throw in a barricade in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil, where 100 people have been killed
Youths tip a dumpster onto a lit barricade in Vitoria, where around 1,700 troops are patrolling the lawless streets
A man readies to throw a rock at a supermarket in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, amid the chaos caused by the police strikes
A municipal guard aims his weapon as two men are pinned up against barricaded shop windows and searched in Vitoria
Civil policemen carry one of at least 100 bodies to the Institute of Forensic Science in Vitoria amid the horrific violence
Relatives and friends of police agent Mario Marcelo de Albuquerque attend his burial after he was killed in a shootout
Kailua, center, son of slain civil police officer Mario Marcelo de Albuquerque Espirito, is comforted during his father's funeral, alongside his mother Patricia Albuquerque, right
Protesters burn tires during a violent protest against the police strike which is calling for officers to receive a 100 percent pay rise
An Army soldier pins a man up against a shop to search his pockets as three of his comrades keep a look out on the streets
Schools, shops and public services remain closed in the city, and more members of the Brazilian army have been sent in to deal with the uprising.
As the mood intensifies and the streets become more violent, the licensed governor of the state of Espirito Santo Paulo Hartung said the walkout and the actions of the officers' families, who are supporting the strike by marching and protesting, was akin to blackmail.
He said the state would not bow to officers' ransom demands, and told The Rio Times: 'What is happening in Espirito Santo is clear blackmail.
'It is the same thing as hijacking the freedom of the Capixaba [Vitoria] citizen and [demand] paying of ransom.
'We can not pay [the] ransom due to ethical reasons and [falling into] non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Law.'
Defence minister Raul Jungman, who has already beefed up security, said an extra 550 troops and 100 National Public Security Force officers will be deployed to help with what is now being called Operation Capixaba.
The situation in the state capital, Vitoria, did not improve on Wednesday, despite federal troops on the streets to guarantee pubic safety. Defense Minister Raul Jungmann announced on Wednesday that federal action in Vitoria, dubbed Operation Capixaba, would receive an additional reinforcement of 550 military personnel from the Armed Forces.
In addition, said the minister, another one hundred members of the National Public Security Force would join the 1,200 army troops who are already patrolling the metropolitan area streets.
More than 1,700 Army troops are now said to have been deployed on the lawless streets but even they cannot get control
A woman walks across the street as army soldiers patrol at Costa beach in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Municipal guards search suspects as the streets have become littered with thugs committing violent crimes
The two sides of the bitter dispute met Wednesday night to begin negotiating.
Strike leaders have issued two demands - general amnesty for all police and a whopping 100 percent wage increase for all military police officers, according to The Rio Times citing local press.
Leaving the fruitless discussion, the state’s Secretary for Human Rights Julio Pompeu told the paper: 'The population is frightened, people are dying in the streets. This is serious.
'The police are fully aware of the gravity of the moment we are living. I am very confident that we will be able to restore sanity, because what we are living here is a state of total insanity.'
Those protesting are claiming officers have not had a pay increase for seven years amid Brazil's economic crisis.
Since the walkout on Saturday, there have been at least 100 deaths in the metropolitan area of Vitoria, according to The Rio Times.
Military police check the broken entrance of a store that was looted as part of a huge uprising in the state over police strikes
Army soldiers inspect a car's wheels which is left parked on the street as citizens cycle by in Vila Velha
Two municipal guards stand at the ready as other guards search several suspects in Vitoria
By Tuesday, Vitoria's murder rate had soared by 650 per cent with 52 homicides in just three days - and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Military troops had to be deployed in the state of Espírito Santo, but the desired effect did not materialise.
The chaos has been compared to the 2014 thriller film The Purge, where people take advantage of the absence of law and order to carry out horrific crimes.
With officers staging a walk-out over conditions and wages, thugs are running riot, with people running rampant with guns and machetes, shops being robbed, buses set on fire and dead bodies are left lying in the street.
Four people lie face-down in the street as military troops check them with two black bin bags sitting on the ground nearby
Two men sit near a grassy verge having been detained by the armed military troops on suspicion of stealing from shops
An unidentified man was shot and his body was found on Jacaraipe beach, in the metropolitan area of Vitoria, EspÌrito Santo
A Civil Police officer stands guard over a looter shot in the leg by the Civil Police while looting an electronic store in Vitoria
Civil Police in Vitoria detain a topless looter who was shot in the leg as he tried to ransack an electronic goods store
A man winces in pain after he was shot in the leg by the Civil Police while looting an electronic store in Vitoria, Espirito Santo
An unidentified man was shot and his body was found on Jacaraipe beach - one of 52 recent homicides reported in the city
A Civil Police officer yells 'get back' to a crowd calling him out for shooting a person who was looting a store in the city
Protests by friends and family of military police officers in the coastal state ignited the crime wave and forced the shutdown of state services such as health centres and schools.
According to latest figures, there were 802 recorded murders in the state capital of Victoria in 2015.
This equates to just more than two a day.
In the first three days of the strikes, there were 52 reported homicides, according to Plus 55.
The unprecedented surge in violence dwarfs the figures of the entire state, which has a population of 3.9million.
In 2012, the latest available figures, there were just over five reported homicides a day state-wide.
Since the strikes, the figure in Victoria alone is nearer 20.
At the request of the state government, federal troops began arriving Monday night to help patrol the streets.
The protests calling for higher pay began this weekend outside military police barracks across the small, coastal state and have prevented vehicles from leaving.
That has left the military police virtually unable to patrol, though a few foot patrols began Monday, the Department of Public Security said.
A man observes the broken window of his car, caused by a gunshot after gang attacks in Vitoria
Civil police detain looters after they were shot in their legs, in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil,
A bus burns violently after it was torched on the street during the chaos in Brazil
Harrowing scenes were reported from all around the state, and one resident told Political Outsource: 'The thugs are randomly shooting at anyone who passes the street in Espírito Santo. My God what is happening.'
Schools have been closed and even football matches cancelled in the affected areas due to the lack of security, which has meant many people are refusing to even venture outdoors.
'I won't even leave my house today,' one Brazilian resident in Espirato Santo told Political Outsource.
'Things are absolutely crazy, there are people running around with guns in pretty populated areas, dozens of people stealing from malls, even dead bodies on streets.'
In the state capital of Vitoria, store windows were smashed and metal shutters used to protect shops peeled away as looters took advantage of the vacuum in law enforcement.
Civil police used force to stop some thieves, shooting at least one man in the leg.
Defense Minister Raul Jungmann traveled to the state Monday evening and 150 soldiers were already on duty.
In all, 1,000 members of the armed forces and 200 members of the national guard were being sent to reinforce police.
The commander of the military police in the state has also been replaced.
Members of the Brazilian army patrol the streets of Vitoria after they were called in to help protect the public
Looters plunder an electronic store as they make the most of the lawlessness in the city of Vitoria
A man lies face-down in the street surrounded by five armed military officers who have been called in to restore order
A paramedic attends to a man who is left on his back in the riots in Espírito Santo
The protests come as Brazil grapples with a deep, protracted recession and many states struggle financially.
In Rio de Janeiro state, where the government is desperately trying to plug a huge deficit, public servants have repeatedly protested over late pay, sometimes clashing violently with police.
The protests in Espirito Santo have 'paralyzed the military police service, not just in the capital but also in the entire state,' the state's head of public security, Andre Garcia, told reporters.
He said there had been a marked increase in crime since the protests began.
Later, he told the defense minister that there had been 37 homicides from Sunday to Monday, though that figure has since climbed to at least 100, according to local media.
'Movements of this nature, they hold society hostage,' Garcia said.
Because of security concerns, officials in Vitoria suspended most services Monday, though emergency services were being maintained with help from the municipal security force.
The city closed schools, parks and health centres.
The closure of health services meant there could be no vaccinations for yellow fever in the city, even as Brazil experiences its worst outbreak of the disease since 2000.
Espirito Santo has seen 14 confirmed cases in the current outbreak, and dozens more are under investigation.
A court ordered the protesters to end their blockade, but the demonstrations outside barracks continued.
Because of their crucial role, members of the military police are not allowed to engage in strikes.
But Garcia, the head of public security, implied that officers were behind the movement, which he called 'supposedly spontaneous.'
Major Rogerio Fernandes Lima, a union representative, denied to reporters that military police had organized the protests but said the officers supported the goals, namely higher pay.
He said officers in the state are among the worst paid in Brazil.
Members of the Brazilian army patrol the streets of Vitoria at night as people attempt to go about their usual routines
Some stores have resorted to hiring their own private security guards to stand outside and stop potential looters
Relatives of police officers camp at the entrance of police headquarters to block the main entrance, during a police strike over wages
The defence ministry said soldiers were being sent in 'due to the serious public safety situation'.
Brazil's Defence Minister Raul Jungmann visited Vitoria Monday on a fact-finding mission.
Police officers have been blockading police stations in protest against unpaid salaries since Saturday.
The acting governor of Espirito Santo state, Cesar Colnago, had earlier begged President Michel Temer 'to send the National Force and the army to safeguard the security of citizens'.
State security chief Andre Garcia said the police chief had been replaced and the new commander had been tasked with 'restoring order and discipline'.
A man is left bloody and battered amid the chaos caused by the military police strike
Thugs break into a shop and can be seen running out of the door with a handful of goods
Dramatic footage from the Purge-like chaos during which one person was shot
The chaos has been captured on camera by a number of worried residents as well as the thugs
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4208714/Death-toll-reaches-100-lawless-Brazilian-city.html
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- The chaos on the streets of Espírito Santo has been compared to the film The Purge where lawlessness rules
- Officers have staged a mass walkout since Saturday in a row over their working conditions and their low pay
- People are running around with guns and machetes and a spate of murders have caused mass panic in Brazil
- Military troops had to be deployed to restore order in city of Vitoria where 100 reported homicides took place
- The police officers are walking out over wages, but want a 100 percent increase in their monthly pay packet
- State officials have labelled their requests as blackmail and have vowed not to fold to their 'ransom demands'
A lawless Brazilian city's murder rate has soared since police went on strike and the death toll has now pushed into triple figures in just five days.
Military troops had to be deployed in the state of Espírito Santo after looting, rape and murders broke out on Saturday amid the industrial action in a row over wages, but even they can't wrestle back control.
Since the walkout, more than 100 people have been killed in the metropolitan area of Vitoria, and officers' refusal to return to work has been labelled blackmail and holding the public to ransom by state officials.
Youths with T-shirts covering their faces gesture next to a barricade in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil, on Tuesday
A topless man carries a sign to throw in a barricade in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil, where 100 people have been killed
Youths tip a dumpster onto a lit barricade in Vitoria, where around 1,700 troops are patrolling the lawless streets
A man readies to throw a rock at a supermarket in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, amid the chaos caused by the police strikes
A municipal guard aims his weapon as two men are pinned up against barricaded shop windows and searched in Vitoria
Civil policemen carry one of at least 100 bodies to the Institute of Forensic Science in Vitoria amid the horrific violence
Relatives and friends of police agent Mario Marcelo de Albuquerque attend his burial after he was killed in a shootout
Kailua, center, son of slain civil police officer Mario Marcelo de Albuquerque Espirito, is comforted during his father's funeral, alongside his mother Patricia Albuquerque, right
Protesters burn tires during a violent protest against the police strike which is calling for officers to receive a 100 percent pay rise
An Army soldier pins a man up against a shop to search his pockets as three of his comrades keep a look out on the streets
Schools, shops and public services remain closed in the city, and more members of the Brazilian army have been sent in to deal with the uprising.
As the mood intensifies and the streets become more violent, the licensed governor of the state of Espirito Santo Paulo Hartung said the walkout and the actions of the officers' families, who are supporting the strike by marching and protesting, was akin to blackmail.
He said the state would not bow to officers' ransom demands, and told The Rio Times: 'What is happening in Espirito Santo is clear blackmail.
'It is the same thing as hijacking the freedom of the Capixaba [Vitoria] citizen and [demand] paying of ransom.
'We can not pay [the] ransom due to ethical reasons and [falling into] non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Law.'
Defence minister Raul Jungman, who has already beefed up security, said an extra 550 troops and 100 National Public Security Force officers will be deployed to help with what is now being called Operation Capixaba.
The situation in the state capital, Vitoria, did not improve on Wednesday, despite federal troops on the streets to guarantee pubic safety. Defense Minister Raul Jungmann announced on Wednesday that federal action in Vitoria, dubbed Operation Capixaba, would receive an additional reinforcement of 550 military personnel from the Armed Forces.
In addition, said the minister, another one hundred members of the National Public Security Force would join the 1,200 army troops who are already patrolling the metropolitan area streets.
More than 1,700 Army troops are now said to have been deployed on the lawless streets but even they cannot get control
A woman walks across the street as army soldiers patrol at Costa beach in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Municipal guards search suspects as the streets have become littered with thugs committing violent crimes
The two sides of the bitter dispute met Wednesday night to begin negotiating.
Strike leaders have issued two demands - general amnesty for all police and a whopping 100 percent wage increase for all military police officers, according to The Rio Times citing local press.
Leaving the fruitless discussion, the state’s Secretary for Human Rights Julio Pompeu told the paper: 'The population is frightened, people are dying in the streets. This is serious.
'The police are fully aware of the gravity of the moment we are living. I am very confident that we will be able to restore sanity, because what we are living here is a state of total insanity.'
Those protesting are claiming officers have not had a pay increase for seven years amid Brazil's economic crisis.
Since the walkout on Saturday, there have been at least 100 deaths in the metropolitan area of Vitoria, according to The Rio Times.
Military police check the broken entrance of a store that was looted as part of a huge uprising in the state over police strikes
Army soldiers inspect a car's wheels which is left parked on the street as citizens cycle by in Vila Velha
Two municipal guards stand at the ready as other guards search several suspects in Vitoria
By Tuesday, Vitoria's murder rate had soared by 650 per cent with 52 homicides in just three days - and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Military troops had to be deployed in the state of Espírito Santo, but the desired effect did not materialise.
The chaos has been compared to the 2014 thriller film The Purge, where people take advantage of the absence of law and order to carry out horrific crimes.
With officers staging a walk-out over conditions and wages, thugs are running riot, with people running rampant with guns and machetes, shops being robbed, buses set on fire and dead bodies are left lying in the street.
Four people lie face-down in the street as military troops check them with two black bin bags sitting on the ground nearby
Two men sit near a grassy verge having been detained by the armed military troops on suspicion of stealing from shops
An unidentified man was shot and his body was found on Jacaraipe beach, in the metropolitan area of Vitoria, EspÌrito Santo
A Civil Police officer stands guard over a looter shot in the leg by the Civil Police while looting an electronic store in Vitoria
Civil Police in Vitoria detain a topless looter who was shot in the leg as he tried to ransack an electronic goods store
A man winces in pain after he was shot in the leg by the Civil Police while looting an electronic store in Vitoria, Espirito Santo
An unidentified man was shot and his body was found on Jacaraipe beach - one of 52 recent homicides reported in the city
A Civil Police officer yells 'get back' to a crowd calling him out for shooting a person who was looting a store in the city
Protests by friends and family of military police officers in the coastal state ignited the crime wave and forced the shutdown of state services such as health centres and schools.
According to latest figures, there were 802 recorded murders in the state capital of Victoria in 2015.
This equates to just more than two a day.
In the first three days of the strikes, there were 52 reported homicides, according to Plus 55.
The unprecedented surge in violence dwarfs the figures of the entire state, which has a population of 3.9million.
In 2012, the latest available figures, there were just over five reported homicides a day state-wide.
Since the strikes, the figure in Victoria alone is nearer 20.
At the request of the state government, federal troops began arriving Monday night to help patrol the streets.
The protests calling for higher pay began this weekend outside military police barracks across the small, coastal state and have prevented vehicles from leaving.
That has left the military police virtually unable to patrol, though a few foot patrols began Monday, the Department of Public Security said.
A man observes the broken window of his car, caused by a gunshot after gang attacks in Vitoria
Civil police detain looters after they were shot in their legs, in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil,
A bus burns violently after it was torched on the street during the chaos in Brazil
Harrowing scenes were reported from all around the state, and one resident told Political Outsource: 'The thugs are randomly shooting at anyone who passes the street in Espírito Santo. My God what is happening.'
Schools have been closed and even football matches cancelled in the affected areas due to the lack of security, which has meant many people are refusing to even venture outdoors.
'I won't even leave my house today,' one Brazilian resident in Espirato Santo told Political Outsource.
'Things are absolutely crazy, there are people running around with guns in pretty populated areas, dozens of people stealing from malls, even dead bodies on streets.'
In the state capital of Vitoria, store windows were smashed and metal shutters used to protect shops peeled away as looters took advantage of the vacuum in law enforcement.
Civil police used force to stop some thieves, shooting at least one man in the leg.
Defense Minister Raul Jungmann traveled to the state Monday evening and 150 soldiers were already on duty.
In all, 1,000 members of the armed forces and 200 members of the national guard were being sent to reinforce police.
The commander of the military police in the state has also been replaced.
Members of the Brazilian army patrol the streets of Vitoria after they were called in to help protect the public
Looters plunder an electronic store as they make the most of the lawlessness in the city of Vitoria
A man lies face-down in the street surrounded by five armed military officers who have been called in to restore order
A paramedic attends to a man who is left on his back in the riots in Espírito Santo
The protests come as Brazil grapples with a deep, protracted recession and many states struggle financially.
In Rio de Janeiro state, where the government is desperately trying to plug a huge deficit, public servants have repeatedly protested over late pay, sometimes clashing violently with police.
The protests in Espirito Santo have 'paralyzed the military police service, not just in the capital but also in the entire state,' the state's head of public security, Andre Garcia, told reporters.
He said there had been a marked increase in crime since the protests began.
Later, he told the defense minister that there had been 37 homicides from Sunday to Monday, though that figure has since climbed to at least 100, according to local media.
'Movements of this nature, they hold society hostage,' Garcia said.
Because of security concerns, officials in Vitoria suspended most services Monday, though emergency services were being maintained with help from the municipal security force.
The city closed schools, parks and health centres.
The closure of health services meant there could be no vaccinations for yellow fever in the city, even as Brazil experiences its worst outbreak of the disease since 2000.
Espirito Santo has seen 14 confirmed cases in the current outbreak, and dozens more are under investigation.
A court ordered the protesters to end their blockade, but the demonstrations outside barracks continued.
Because of their crucial role, members of the military police are not allowed to engage in strikes.
But Garcia, the head of public security, implied that officers were behind the movement, which he called 'supposedly spontaneous.'
Major Rogerio Fernandes Lima, a union representative, denied to reporters that military police had organized the protests but said the officers supported the goals, namely higher pay.
He said officers in the state are among the worst paid in Brazil.
Members of the Brazilian army patrol the streets of Vitoria at night as people attempt to go about their usual routines
Some stores have resorted to hiring their own private security guards to stand outside and stop potential looters
Relatives of police officers camp at the entrance of police headquarters to block the main entrance, during a police strike over wages
The defence ministry said soldiers were being sent in 'due to the serious public safety situation'.
Brazil's Defence Minister Raul Jungmann visited Vitoria Monday on a fact-finding mission.
Police officers have been blockading police stations in protest against unpaid salaries since Saturday.
The acting governor of Espirito Santo state, Cesar Colnago, had earlier begged President Michel Temer 'to send the National Force and the army to safeguard the security of citizens'.
State security chief Andre Garcia said the police chief had been replaced and the new commander had been tasked with 'restoring order and discipline'.
A man is left bloody and battered amid the chaos caused by the military police strike
Thugs break into a shop and can be seen running out of the door with a handful of goods
Dramatic footage from the Purge-like chaos during which one person was shot
The chaos has been captured on camera by a number of worried residents as well as the thugs
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4208714/Death-toll-reaches-100-lawless-Brazilian-city.html
Holy Spirit!
and the chicks walking around here are fine but not like them Brazilian chicks...