A large-scale police operation in Rio de Janeiro to evict hundreds of families from abandoned buildings has ended in violent clashes and injuries. More than 1,500 officers arrived at dawn to clear nearly 5,000 people from a site owned by a telecommunications company.
Some families left peacefully, but clashes broke out when others resisted. Squatters threw rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Several people were injured, including children and police officers. Cranes and tractors demolished wooden huts built around the buildings, many still full of belongings that residents had no time to pack.
"They (the police) came here breaking everything, removing the people from there," said Sandro Sousa, one of the squatters. "We lost our home and we are now trying to have a house." Another resident, Drielo Almeida, said: "I am crying because I have nowhere to go to. I have no place to live."
Rio municipal authorities insisted that help had been offered to the homeless families. According to the Globo news portal, the local government said teams of social workers were on site but only 177 squatters accepted support. "The city provided trucks, buses and machinery so that the work of clearing the ground and evicting the people could happen in an orderly manner," it said in a statement. Police said the operation went as planned and had followed standard procedures.
The families began occupying the abandoned plot in northern Rio ten days ago, moving in from the city's favelas. The BBC's Julia Carneiro in the Brazilian city said pictures on local media showed how fast work was progressing. "The area was quickly divided into tiny plots, shacks were being raised and some residents already had illegal power connections," she said. The buildings are not far from one of the venues for the 2016 Olympic Games.
